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Maggie's PlaceAdult Contemporary, Women's Fiction, Christmas, Suspense, LDS
Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 272 Pages
November 1st 2019 by Covenant Communications
Summary
Years ago, Mary Margaret Sullivan changed her name, boxed up her previous life, moved into the Eagle Gate Apartments, and hid her painful memories in her chicken-wire storage unit in the basement. But secrets have an inconvenient way of surfacing when least expected.
Three weeks before Christmas, an elegant man in a penthouse, a young woman named Carly—homeless and ill with pneumonia—and two calculating thieves invade Maggie's carefully reconstructed life, and in different ways, each is connected to Maggie's difficult past. As Maggie and friends nurse Carly back to health, hearts begin to heal with a hope for the future. But all is not as it seems. When faced with the shocking truth, Maggie must rely on her wits, her friends, and her own strength as never before.
My Review
MAGGIE'S PLACE is part women's fiction and part suspense. It's a story of heartbreak, loss, and mistakes, but also friendship, forgiveness, and second chances. It's full of charming, quirky, and sweet characters that readers will fall in love with, and how their lives connect in complex ways. Definitely recommended to women's fiction and LDS fiction readers.
These characters! What a riot these ladies were!! I loved them all immensely! I also fell in love with Carly and Ed. I loved the motley crew these characters make and the way they interact with each other. Their lives have such a full history and they're in the latter end, and yet they're still learning and developing friendships. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments as well as sweet ones. Then there were moments that made me want to cry, that were heartbreaking. Add to that the suspense elements and the situation Carly finds herself in. It was the perfect balance of a slue of emotions and plot twists that kept this story entertaining and heartfelt from beginning to end.
Just a note about this book... I wasn't sure, at first, if this was a general market release or a religious one. For those not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, there aren't any religious moments or preaching. The characters are members of the church and there are some cultural references, but nothing that those not members wouldn't understand. It's more of a background to the characters and the downtown setting of Salt Lake City, Utah.
In the end, was it what I wished for? I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up, but I definitely enjoyed this story. It was engaging from the first to the last page, with lovable characters, and a story full of heart with plenty of intrigue. Highly recommended!
Content: Some violence and blunt references.
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
A people watcher from an early age and a native of a small college town on the northern edge of Utah, Annette Haws examines the tribulations and the foibles of characters playing their parts on a small stage. A graduate of Utah State University, Annette also did honors graduate work in American Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Iowa and the University of Utah. Annette’s best memories from her years teaching in the public school system are coaching mock trial and a; particularly, an all girls team of ninth-graders that advanced to win the state championship.After spending fourteen years in the classroom, Annette set aside her denim skirts and practical shoes to pursue her interest in writing fiction. Three of her short stories, “Fish Stories,” “The Gift of Tongues,” and “Come to Zion” have been published in Dialogue Journal. Her first novel about the travails of a school teacher, WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO CHANGE, won Best of State, A Whitney Award for Best Fiction, and the League of Utah Writers award for best published fiction. Her second novel, THE ACCIDENTAL MARRIAGE, a delightful story of a new marriage that runs amuck, was released in December of 2013. In MAGGIE’S PLACE, Ms. Haws tackles young love, homelessness, suicide, knitting, dementia, and the personal baggage that encumbers people entering the third act of their lives.
She is the mother of four above average children and is the spouse of a patient husband. She’s available for entertaining book club presentations on Skype or in person. She would love to hear from you at annette_haws@yahoo.com.
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