Customer Reviews

Mending Fences

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Emily Dobbs and Marcie Carter have been friends for many years. Their yards adjoin and they've even made a pathway so they can visit easier. They each have a son and a daughter - all close in age. Unfortunately, their husbands don't like each other very well but still their friendship endures.

When Marcie's son, Evan is accused of rape, Emily is the first to offer her support. After all, Evan practically grew up in her house. She refuses to believe he could be guilty of such a crime. And when police office Grady Rodriguez comes around asking questions, she staunchly defends Evan.

But what happens when she slowly begins to realize that Evan may not be all that she thinks he is? And when it starts to involve her own family, will the friendship survive?

This is a little more serious than some of Sherryl Woods's books but well worth the read.

High school teacher Emily Dobbs has been best friends with perfect homemaker Marcie Carter since the Carters moved into their suburban Miami neighborhood ten years earlier. Even their kids are close. Together they have weathered just about every storm, including Emily's painful split with her absentee husband Derek. But their relationship is put to the ultimate test when Marcie's son Evan is charged with date rape. At first rallying to his side in support of Marcie, Emily soon sees chinks in Evan's armor, noticing that he is more like his verbally abusive father than she realized, and questions whether this might not be the first time Evan has forced himself on a girl. Adding complications is Emily's emerging feelings for the detective in charge of the investigation. Detective Grady Rodriguez, convinced of Evan's guilt finds himself in unfamiliar territory as he too is attracted to Emily, and that attraction could have an impact on his case.

Woods' forte is writing about families - she has painted an incredible picture of each family (including the Rodriguez clan) and how the interact with each other. The successes, the failures, the everyday activities that they enjoy, and the deep pain that they can cause to each other. She breathes life into them, making them realistic, as they just flow off the pages. While the flashback chapters in the beginning were a little awkward and the romance is pretty light, the story is a compelling and captivating tale of friendship.

After the Carter family moves into the neighborhood, they become exceptionally close friends with the Dobbs family-so close that their children cut a pathway in the hedges dividing the properties in order to gain faster access to their friends. Their relationships are followed for an approximate ten-year time span during which there is marital strife and the natural angst that occurs as the children become teenagers.

When one of the children is accused of a serious crime, the families struggle to stick together through the difficulties to uncover the truth and to decide how to best rectify the situation. In the process, family secrets are revealed, which leads to even greater hardships in trying to maintain a once seemingly unbreakable bond between friends.

Sherryl Woods does an excellent job of developing the characters. I was able to feel their pain and understand their dilemmas fully. Woods uses the themes of strength and honesty prevalently in this book. I enjoyed watching Marcie's transformation from a subservient housewife into a woman who finally was honest with herself about how she was being treated and took a stand toward making drastic changes in her life. Emily had to accept what she knew in her heart was true in order to save her family. Dani had to muster the courage to admit her secret so she could forgive and move on with her life.

Mending Fences contains elements of romance, friendship and suspense and will thus appeal mainly to females. For the most part, the characters are likable and realistic which makes it easy for the reader to connect with them and empathize with their situations.

I could not wait to find out how this story would end because it could have gone in several directions.

Armchair Interviews says: Highly recommended.

MENDING FENCES by Sherryl Woods
September 4, 2008

Rating: 4/5 Stars

I'm a relatively new fan of Sherryl Woods but so far I have enjoyed each of the books I've read. In MENDING FENCES, two families who have been neighbors for many years find their lives are torn apart when the son of one family is accused of rape.

Emily Dobbs and Marcie Carter are the two mothers that become friends, and the two families unite as the children grow up together and the families spend a lot of time in each other's company. While the husbands don't quite get along, the mothers are best friends and try to keep the friendship going. But, when Evan Carter, a college student, is accused of raping another student, the friendships are tested. Marcie expects her loyal friend to back her son up, but there are reasons why Emily begins to doubt the sincerity of the star athlete. Despite knowing him most of his life, a boy who was such a star student and all around good guy, Emily at first doesn't believe the accusations, until her daughter begins to act in a bizarre manner. Emily is now wondering if her daughter may have been a victim as well.

The book could have used some editing, MENDING FENCES was still a good read. The ending should have been different (things were resolved too quickly) but other than that I'm recommending the book.

Ken and Marcie Carter and their children ,Evan and Caitlyn, move into a quiet Miami neighborhood and become fast friends with the Dobbs family; Derek and Emily and their kids, Dani and Josh. The kids grow up together and Marcie and Emily become best friends. They've been there for each other through many ups and downs including divorce and troublesome teens, but now their friendship will be tested when Evan is accused of date rape.

Grady Rodriguez is the detective assigned to Evan's case. Emily is caught between spending time with Grady and betraying her friend. Then a secret threatens to destroy the last fiber holding the families together.

Mending Fences is packed with drama, emotion and fantastic characterization. I was completely engrossed in the story from start to finish. Ms. Woods keeps the plot thick and the emotions running high on every page. Mending Fences is my first Sherryl Woods novel but definitely not my last!

Nannette
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Could not disagree with the other reviewers more. I didn't feel everyone's pain. This is a very serious subject treated in a casual manner. Add to that everything being wrapped up in a tidy little package. The mother of the victim even hopes the boy can return to the boy she loved so. Not possible.

When you take a serious subject and put it in the hands of a childish writer this is the result, a bad book. What was wrong with this book? Emily was one of the sorriest characters I have ever read about. She was weak, selfish and childish. She suspects her daughter has been assaulted so she sticks her head in the sand not wanting to face it, digusting. She is too busy dreaming about the detective investigating the case not to mention how irritating he is. The dialog was stiff, cold and gibberish most of the time. This would have been a good book if written by a better author, such as Joy Fielding. This author does not have the skill or knowledge necessary to write this kind of book. Just reading the book you can tell she never researched such a serious issue, she just sat down and started writing.

Ridiculous is the only way to describe this book, it doesn't even desire one star. What a waste of money. My advise to this author, next time write with more maturity and do your research.

For over ten years neighbors Marcie Carter and Emily Dobbs have been best friends helping each other raise their two offspring each. Whereas Marcie is married to Ken, Emily is a single mom, but marital status has not interfered with their friendship.

However, both moms are shocked when Marcie's son Evan, a University of Miami football star with an NFL future, is accused of date rape by Lauren Brown. Emily Dobbs refuses to believe it as she knows Evan and his sister Caitlyn quite well from them playing with her kids Josh and Dani as much as from babysitting and family gatherings. However, as Ken tries to prove his son's innocence regardless of the cost to others even his wife and daughter, Emily notices Dani is acting strange at a time when Police Detective Grady Rodriguez has a hunch that the teen can shed a light on the dark side of Evan.

MENDING FENCES is a tense family drama starring a fully developed cast. The story line is driven by the characters. Each of the Carters and Dobbs react differently to the news of Evan's arrest; however, the fascination is how the attitudes of the two moms change as the truth is revealed while Ken would sacrifice his daughter for his son. Although a romantic subplot between Grady and Emily seems unnecessary except to please romance readers, Sherryl Woods provides a strong look at the impact of a trauma on the friendships between two next door families.

Harriet Klausner