Customer Reviews

Wednesday's Child

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Susan Chandler's husband diappeared seven years ago along with her baby daughter Emma. Susan always assumed that Richard took her along with all of their saved money. She searched for them, but always took comfort in the fact that Emma was safe with her father. Now, Richard's car with his body is pulled from a river and everything that Susan presumed had happened is false. Now she must find out what happened to her daughter all those years ago with the help of a wounded Delta Force Major, Jeb Bedford.

I really enjoyed the protagonists' chemistry in the story. Sometimes the romance takes center stage over the plotline. Luckily, the plot did not suffer. The story was quite compelling even if things like medical and police ethics were non-existent. I found the story to be quite page-turning.

In Johnson County, Mississippi, Sheriff Adams informs Mrs. Richard Kaiser that her spouse died in a car accident apparently several years ago when his vehicle went off the road into the Escatawpa River. The SUV with the body inside was only just discovered. Mrs. Kaiser is stunned, but does not correct the sheriff in that she divorced Richard almost seven years ago when he vanished with their child Emily. Using her maiden name of Susan Chandler, she has hopes that Emily still lives as no other corpse was found in the vehicle.

Susan travels to Linton, Mississippi where she finds a room at Lorina Bedford's B&B. Lorina's great nephew Jeb is hostile towards the guest until her inquiries lead to her being run off the road. Jeb, a Delta Force soldier on medical leave from injuries sustained in Iraq, helps Susan investigate based on why her ex spouse would have left the interstate here; their logic being car trouble or medical help as they try to figure out who has suddenly had a toddler. As they follow the cold trail, they fall in love, but neither trusts the other with their respective heart.

WEDNESDAY'S CHILD is a strong amateur sleuth romance with the emphasis on the suspense more so than the love subplot. Susan is a terrific protagonist who by being honest is treated with scorn by law enforcement officials starting with her believing Richard would never harm Emily. The romance between Jeb and Susan is handled in conjunction with the investigation they conduct. Fans will appreciate this powerful glimpse of a mother's worst nightmare nearing closure, but seemingly not attaining it.

Harriet Klausner

Seven years ago, Susan Chandler's husband and baby daughter, Emma, disappeared without a trace. To all appearances, Richard left of his own accord. But Susan knew her husband wouldn't desert her. And in her heart, she knew her daughter was alive somewhere, waiting to be found. When she receives a call from a Mississippi county sheriff, reporting her husband's body was found in his car submerged in a river, the information creates more questions than answers. What was he doing in rural Mississippi? And where was Emma?

Susan made the mistake years ago of accepting what law enforcement people told her. She won't do it again. She drives to Linton, Mississippi, intent on investigating the mystery firsthand. But just like before, everyone seems intent on convincing her to go home, accept what happened, and move on with her life. Her only allies are Miz Lorena Bedford, owner of the bed & breakfast where Susan is staying, and her great-nephew Jeb Bedford, on medical leave from the military. Jeb has his own demons to slay, trying to recover from his debilitating injury so he can return to his Delta Force team. But as Susan struggles to confirm her daughter's fate, he finds his protective instincts awakened ... as well as desire.

As she does in her Harlequin Intrigues, Gayle Wilson has created strong, sympathetic characters with real emotions, a puzzler of a mystery, and hair-raising suspense all blended together in a pleasing package. Her Intrigue fans especially should enjoy this longer-format book, which simply offers more of everything she's so good at.

It had been seven years since Richard disappeared with Emma, and Susan had just about giving up ever hearing what happened. Then a sheriff called to say the SUV had been located under a train tresle with his body but an empty infant seat in the back.

"Monday's child is fair of face;
Tuesday's child is full of grace;
Wednesday's child is full of woe;
Thursday's child has far to go.
Friday's child is loving and giving;
Saturday's child works hard for its living;
But the child born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay."

Jeremiah in the Old Testament used to be my favorite prophet because he was called the prophet of doom. Perhaps, like Emma, I had been a Wednesday child. We are the survivors. Maybe 'woeful' leaves a bad connotation, but it doesn't necessarily mean hopeless.

Richard had been killed before the vehicle was pushed into the water at a curve, where such accidents occur occasionally. Emma had survived and eventually with the persistence of Susan was found. They both lead a better, brighter life that that with Richard, as he was unreliable, and it was thought that he might have had another woman.

This is a "gripping tale of tension-filled romance and heart-stopping suspense." Gayle Wilson has written DOUBLE BLIND and TAKE NO PRISONERS. She may become another Mary Higgins Clark.