Riggs Park [Paperback]

Ellyn Bache (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2008

A poignant novel about a lifelong friendship, this is the story of Barbara and Marilyn, who once shared an idyllic childhood in the modest Riggs Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. Now, at age 58, each is dealing with a crisis - Marilyn with recurrent breast cancer, Barbara with a difficult relationship with a man. Yet both feel driven to return to the old neighborhood together to solve a decades-old mystery that still haunts them. The heart-wrenching secret they discover tests their friendship. Will it also shatter the resilience that got them through the repressive social mores of the 1950s, the white flight from the city, the years of feminism and anti-feminism and child-rearing? Or will it give them the strength to move on?

Editorial Reviews

Review

This story of friends who've known each other for years, but find there's much still to be discovered, is emotional and poignant. . . . Barbara is a strong, complicated woman whose viewpoint draws the reader deeply into the lives of these women and their families. --Romantic Times Book Reviews

It had been rumored that Marilyn and Barbara's troubled friend Penny had had a baby as a teenager, but neither girl knew for sure. Now, incapacitated by cancer, Marilyn wants some answers. But when Barbara agrees to do some sleuthing, the shocking truth is nothing either had expected. Exceptionally well-handled flashbacks help readers follow this complex story, which takes more than one incredible turn. This insightful book will resonate with readers who grew up in the Fifties. --Library Journal

Delightful . . . an intriguing plot with a terrific final twist. --The Readers Guild

About the Author

Ellyn Bache is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books, including the novel, Safe Passage, that was made into a film starring Susan Sarandon, and a short story collection, The Value of Kindness, that won the Willa Cather Fiction Prize.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Banks Channel Books (March 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889199125
• ISBN-13: 978-1889199122
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,468,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I started writing when my first two children were toddlers, we were living in a tiny apartment in West Virginia where I knew no one, and my husband and I were sharing one car. I got out only a few days a week and desperately needed some "adult" work for those long, homebound afternoons. When I volunteered to write a press release for the humane society, it appeared in the local paper, complete with my byline. I was hooked! I think I've written something almost every day in the 30+ years since.

I started out as a freelance newspaper journalist -- something even a stay-at-home mom could do -- and spent six years teaching myself to write fiction (six years of rejections!) before my first stories began appearing in magazines like McCall's, Good Housekeeping and Seventeen, which published lots of fiction in those days, and in literary magazines like The Carolina Quarterly.

I wrote my first novel, SAFE PASSAGE, after the youngest of my four children went to school, and I've been writing novels ever since. In 1995, SAFE PASSAGE became a movie starring Susan Sarandon, a great thrill, and many of the other books have received various recognitions and awards. But the greatest thrill has been the privilege having a long, satisfying career that has also let me spend so much time with my family. What more could any writer want?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complex, Intriguing, Lyrical, July 6, 2005

By 

J. Archer "Texas reader" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Riggs Park (Harlequin Next Tall) (Mass Market Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. The plot is layered and satisfyingly complex. The characters are true-to-life. Nothing is sugar-coated. On top of all this, the language is beautiful, almost lyrical in tone.

What started out seeming to be a simple tale of two old friends facing their immortality and revisiting their pasts, regrets and all, turned into a tale of friendship, betrayal, love and a mystery with surprising twists and turns.

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys mainstream women's fiction by Elizabeth Berg, Elaine Kagan, Eileen Goudge, et.al.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine middle age amateur sleuth, July 15, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Riggs Park (Harlequin Next) (Mass Market Paperback)

They met as little kids in the DC Riggs Park area and have remained friends for over fifty years though Barbara Cohen lives in Wrightsville, North Carolina while Marilyn Waxman remained in the Washington area. Marilyn informs Barbara that she is back and she needs to see her to discuss what happened to another friend Penny when they were in college. Knowing that it is cancer Barbara agrees to visit her best friend although she is having personal problems with her lover Jon.

Marilyn shocks Barbara when she mentions she will undergo a facelift prior to the experimental cancer treatment. Even more stunning is the secret that Penny had a child before vanishing; the father is either Marilyn's famous singing brother Steve or an unknown she apparently met on the "Bus Ride to see Steve. Reluctantly Barbara agrees to search for clues that would lead to Penny's offspring. As she begins her quest in the old neighborhood she realizes you can never go home, but continues her elusive venture.

This fine middle age amateur sleuth character study is a well written buddy tale with a cast that makes the ensemble cast especially the lead female friends seem real. The friendship between Marilyn and Barbara serves as the key foundation to an intriguing plot. Barbara's inquires begin somewhat late in the novel as she is not convinced she should follow the clues until she realizes her beloved buddy needs to know the truth. With a terrific final twist to the delightful RIGGS PARK, readers will look forward to what comes next from Ellyn Bache.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars captivating, August 11, 2005

By 

Jill "book lover" (Benton Harbor, MI United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Riggs Park (Harlequin Next Tall) (Mass Market Paperback)

I couldn't put the book down--loved the characters but also the depth and uniqueness of the story. Can't believe how much the author could pack into this size of book--will be looking for her books in the future. Highly recommend. The story was so human, so real, something all women could relate to...