The Boy on the Porch [Paperback]

Dee Holmes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2003

On the one-year anniversary of her husband's death, Annie Hunter finds a ragged-looking boy asleep on her porch. Against her better judgment, she finds herself drawn into the boy's search for his birth parents-and finds the one man who can heal her wounded heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stock characters and a dated premise make this contemporary romance between a prim and prickly "uptown" girl and a jaded, Harley-hugging bad boy feel like a poorly scripted '50s flick. When interior decorator Annie Hunter finds 13-year-old orphan Cullen Gallagher asleep on her porch swing, she does what any self-concerned resident of upscale Bedford, R.I., would do-she calls the police. The police haul the scruffy-looking kid off of her property but not before Cullen voices his belief that Annie's late husband was his father. Intrigued and more than a little incensed, Annie, who was unable to have children, follows Cullen to the station and meets Linc McCoy, the director of Cullen's group home. Linc has a chip on his shoulder and a general dislike for well-off women, but he's still attracted to Annie and willing to help her get to the bottom of Cullen's paternity. Holmes's trite prose ("Her heart was pounding as she cast a look back up the staircase. A man secreted away in her bedroom. It was so deliciously crazy, she almost giggled.") adds little color to this bland tale, and her characters' speech patterns are eerily similar. Though some readers may find joy in seeing Annie get a second chance at love, others will be disappointed by the book's recycled story line and one-dimensional characters.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

After her husband's been dead a year, interior designer Annie Hunter finds a 13-year-old boy on her front porch, who claims to be the son of her late spouse. Since hers was a childless marriage, Annie assumes the boy is lying. But Linc McCoy, director of Noah's House, where Cullen is living, convinces Annie to at least keep an open mind about it. After digging into her husband's records, Annie admits there's a possibility that Cullen's telling the truth, especially since he bears such a striking resemblance to her late husband. Soon, Linc and Cullen become an important part of her life, and Annie realizes her perfect marriage, perfect life, and perfect husband were all an illusion. Holmes, author of the Caleb Trees (2000), writes an emotion-filled tale that's not one bit maudlin, because her characters are sympathetic without being weak and pitiful, a flaw in so many secret baby books. Fans of Tara Taylor Quinn and Christine Flynn will also enjoy this novel. Shelley Mosley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (January 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425188159
• ISBN-13: 978-0425188156
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,924,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good!, January 2, 2003

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Boy on the Porch (Paperback)

A year after her husband, Richard, died, Annie Hunter finds a surprise on her doorstep, a teen aged boy claiming he is Richard's illegitimate son, Cullen Gallagher. He also thinks Annie is is mother, but that is impossible. Investigating his story brings Annie into contact with enigmatic Linc McCoy, the man who runs a center for troubled boys, Cullen's former home. Despite mistrust on both sides, Annie and Linc find themselves drawn together on a more personal level as they work together to find Cullen's birth parents. Annie also finds herself drawn to the boy who so rudely barged into her life, and is willing to fight to keep him, and may have to.

** With tenderness and love, Ms. Holmes paints a picture of how with effort, love can heal broken hearts and fill the holes left by betrayal. As this unusual family knits together, readers cheer the growth of imperfect people as they go beyond duty to fulfill the obligations of love. **

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wonderful character study, January 18, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Boy on the Porch (Paperback)

In Bedford, Rhode Island, one year ago today, Annie Hunter's beloved husband Richard suddenly dies of a massive heart attack at forty-two years old. Though still grieving, Annie's interior decorator business remains a success though her personal life is a zilch.

Annie comes home from work only to see a young adolescent sleeping on her porch with her dog resting next to him. She calls the police who take Cullen Gallagher down to station, but not before he claims Annie is his mother and Richard his father. At the police station, Annie learns that Cullen lives at Noah House for Troubled Boys, managed by Linc McCoy. As Annie and Linc overcome their initial distrust of one another they work together to learn the truth behind Cullen's continual claim that Richard is his father. They fall in love with one another, but both believe that the other is wrong for them even if they work so well together.

Dee Holmes furbishes her fans with an exciting contemporary romance that will grab the heartstrings of the audience because of Cullen's need to belong to a family. Linc and Annie are a fine couple, but the tension between them changes rather quickly from suspicion of motive to that of love. Readers will receive plenty of pleasure from BOY ON THE PORCH, a wonderful character study that supports a tough love approach to the problems of youth.

Harriet Klausner