The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch [Paperback]

Marsha Moyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 27, 2003

I was thirty-three years old when my husband walked out into a field one morning and never came back, and I went in one quick leap from wife to widow.

Lucy Hatch never expected more of life than to spend it on an East Texas farm with her silent and stoic husband, Mitchell. Now that the curtain has abruptly come down, she's back where it all started -- in tiny Mooney -- living in a rundown old house perched on the edge of nowhere, meaning to carry out her widowhood in the manner of her old maid Aunt Dove, in peaceful solitude.

But life, and the folks of Mooney, have other plans for Lucy. In hardly any time at all, she's mortified her entire family. And without even trying, she's caught the eye of the local handyman, Ash Farrell -- lifting eyebrows and setting tongues wagging. Everyone in town, it seems, thinks the guitar-playing, lady-loving Ash is the wrong choice of company for a brand new widow. All Lucy Hatch knows for sure is that she hasn't had much worth remembering in her first thirty-three years. This is her life, after all, and for the very first time, she intends to live it.

Marsha Moyer's exhilarating debut is a funny, poignant, and winsome tale about self-discovery and starting over at the beginning -- and of love popping up in the most unlikely place and time to transform a heart and nourish a soul. You're never going to forget Lucy Hatch.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Plangent with sorrow, wonder and hope, this is an immensely appealing novel about a woman who finds love the second time around. Suddenly widowed at 33 after 14 years of a barren, passionless marriage to a laconic farmer, Lucy Hatch Breward returns to her hometown of Mooney, Tex. Sparks fly when she meets hunk and ladies' man Ash Farrell, who's a carpenter extraordinaire by day and a seductive singer/guitar player who belts out country songs at the town honky-tonk, the Round-Up, at night. Guilt-ridden because she cannot mourn her husband's death, Lucy is reluctant to respond to Ash's blandishments. A classic situation ensues: he pursues, she resists; he pursues, she succumbs (during a heavy rain storm, and again and again... )-all in the full glare of town gossip. As the story of Lucy's psychological and emotional bewilderment and her gradual coming of age develops, first novelist Moyer seduces the reader with pitch-perfect prose fed by an observant eye and a wise heart. If some of the situations are the stuff of women's magazine fiction, Moyer is capable of sweet and insightful writing about the power of love to transcend grief. The dialogue is sharp and wry, with an authentic country twang, and humor is provided by colorful secondary characters whose only fault is that they're all excessively decent and kindhearted-but maybe that's the way people are in East Texas. On the other hand, Lucy's attempts to reconcile her past and future are realistically portrayed, granting her full dimensionality and emotional resonance.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Lucy Hatch is 33 and moving back to her hometown of Mooney, TX, because her husband of 14 years has just died in a freak accident. She is alone and must start over without Mitchell Breward, who was as steady as the land he loved. What worries her most, though, is that she is not as broken up over Mitchell's passing as she thinks a good wife should be. In fact, she is looking forward to the peace and solitude she expects her future life to hold. So when local heartthrob Ash Farrell starts showing interest in her, Lucy is torn between the strong feelings she is developing for this persistent stranger and her resolve to go it alone for the first time. She must also come to terms with the lack of affection in her first marriage. Moyer's debut novel has its share of stock characters and predictable plot lines, but her lilting prose and romantic story will make a good summer afternoon read. Recommended for all public libraries. Tamara Butler, Olean P.L., NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (May 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006008166X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060081669
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,504,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing work for a new writer, July 3, 2003

By 

E. Griffin (Wilton, CT, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch (Paperback)

This book is amazingly well written for a first novel. A mix between a romance novel and a coming of age story, it is both touching and joyful.

Lucy Hatch's husband dies in an accident, and Lucy moves back home to recover. Shortly after she arrives, Lucy meets a man that "rocks her world" literally and figuratively. Most of the story focuses on Lucy's processing what love has been for, what is has not been, and what she wants it to be.

I don't typically read romance novels, but stayed with this one because of the depth of Lucy's feelings for her husband, her family, and the new man in her life. It would be easy to assume that Lucy's marriage was loveless, and that she finds true love at last. Underlying this all is the concept that one can only love someone as best and as far as they will let you.

I recommend this book highly, and can't wait for Marsha Moyer's next one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moyer hatches a fun first novel, March 21, 2003

By 

Cville Dad (Catonsville, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch: A Novel (Hardcover)

I read this one in a day - it was engrossing from start to finish. Light and sweet, not too much different than your average romance novel, but with a little more spark and substance. Normally, I tend to take a cynical bent on books like this, but it was such a pleasure to read, I set my cynic aside for the entire novel.

Thirty-three year old Lucy finds a new life for herself when her husband (whom she did not love) of fourteen years dies unexpectedly. She is unencumbered and free to make her life over. She moves back to her hometown and immediately becomes captivated by heartthrob country singer/carpenter Ash Farrell. Their relationship takes on the fun spar and parry that leads to the inevitable moment when they FINALLY get in bed together, beginning Lucy's sexual awakening. These love scenes are just juicy enough to give new meaning to Lucy's "second coming" (wink, wink).

For a first novel, this was so smooth and well-paced - there wasn't a hang-up in the whole book. A great escape novel that'll make you want to go out and find your own honky-tonk handyman.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous!, November 1, 2005

By 

Karen MacInerney (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch (Paperback)

If you're looking to be swept away for a night (because once you pick it up, you won't put it down), then you NEED to buy this book. Every once in a while you come across a gem of a story -- one that you fall into, where you feel you know the characters better than you know your best friend, where the emotions that tumble off the pages are every bit as powerful and heady as the ones that swept through you when you fell in love the first time...

This book defies categorization. It is a love story, a 'coming of age' story, a literary triumph... and hot, hot, hot. :) No, it's not a romance. No, it's not a 'let's fall in love and everything will be hunky dory' book. It's a soul-searching, soul-rending, beautiful story that will remind you what passion is -- and might just make you fall in love with your husband (or wife) all over again.

(BTW, The Last of the Honky-Tonk Angels is just as good... can't WAIT for the third! Write faster, Marsha!)