Woman in Red (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this page-turning novel, Alice Kessler, the married mother of two sons, is living on the fictional Grays Island, in the Pacific Northwest, when her eight-year-old son is run over while riding his bike. Alice is convinced the driver, Owen White, was drunk—though her husband, Randy, is not. Neither is the court system. So, on the day Alice loses her wrongful death lawsuit, she runs Owen down in the courthouse parking lot, crippling but not killing him. Alice serves nine years and returns to the island near-broke and hoping to reunite with her surviving son, Jeremy, now 16. (Her husband, Randy, has divorced her.) At the same time, Colin McGinty, an ex-Manhattan prosecutor, has returned to his dead artist grandfather's island house after losing his wife in 9/11. Alice and Colin's fates become bound with a little help from Colin's inherited border collie and, more concretely, a portrait of Alice's grandmother. Cutting between WWII-era depictions of the lives of Colin's and Alice's grandparents and the melodramatic present (including Alice's son being accused of rape and Owen White's machinations as island mayor), haute-romance veteran Goudge (Immediate Family; Wish Come True; etc.) unspools a predictable yet satisfying tale of survival and redemption. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Returning home to the snug offshore community of Gray's Island, Washington, after nine years in prison for the attempted murder of the drunk driver who killed her son, Alice Kessler finds that much has changed. For one thing, her intended victim, Owen Wilson, now confined to a wheelchair, has been elected mayor and uses his infirmity to great political advantage: blackmailing police and court officials, green-lighting controversial property developments, and mercilessly intimidating anyone who dares oppose him. Wanting only to lead a quiet life so she can rebuild a relationship with her surviving son, Jeremy, Alice quickly discovers the depths of Wilson's need for revenge when Jeremy is falsely accused of rape. Desperate to clear Jeremy's name, Alice must rely on one of the few people brave enough to stand up to Wilson, recovering alcoholic and former Manhattan district attorney Colin McGinty. He has come to Gray's Island still mourning his wife, who was killed on 9/11, and finds strength in Alice's fierce determination to save her son and put her past behind her. Goudge's skillful storytelling slyly juxtaposes bucolic imagery and congenial, if not particularly complex, characters with an incisively sinister, often surprising tale of secrets kept and promises broken. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Vanguard Press; Reprint edition (May 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159315500X
• ISBN-13: 978-1593155001
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #491,466 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars READER'S DELIGHT, June 10, 2007

By	Lois Goetz - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Woman in Red (Hardcover)

Fellow Readers,
You are in for a treat. I have read all of Eileen's books; each one gets better and better. This one takes the cake! The characters reach right into your heart and stay there throughout the entire journey. I found myself speaking to Alice, her son Jeremy, and Colin while they lived through every twist and turn in this page-turner. This book will keep you wanting more until finally you reach the conclusion. Happy REading!

Lois Goetz

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Beach Read, July 1, 2007

By	Maudeen Wachsmith "BeachReader" (Port Townsend, WA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Woman in Red (Hardcover)

This was a book hard to put down but I had to give it a 1/2 point off because of the sloppy research about the cardinal being in the San Juans (mentioned more than once) but 1/2 point added due to the setting (a fictionalized Orcas Island, called Gray's Island in the book). Basically it's about Alice Kessler who has just returned to Gray's Island after nine years in prison for attempted murder of the man responsible for the death of her young son. Arriving on the same ferry is Colin McGinty, a 9/11 widower there to settle his grandfather's estate. Alice needs to reconnect with the son she left behind, now a teenager who doesn't seem to want to have much to do with her, and facing ostracization from the community (the man she attempted to murder is now the town's powerful mayor). Interwoven is a poignant story from the 1940s which just happens to be about Alice's grandmother and Colin's grandfather.

I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys powerful family dramas -- it does get a little melodramatic toward the end and that kept it from being an 5-star read. But overall, I enjoyed it and it was a smooth, quick read and was never dull. Oh and my town even gets a brief mention toward the end!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great "back-porch" reading!, July 12, 2007

By	Donnagene O. Palmer "Jazz Junkie" (Warren, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Woman in Red (Hardcover)

Eileen Goudge never disappoints. The characters are so well-defined that the reader has no trouble imagining physical characteristics to match the personalities of each. The story has the main plot, as well as sub-plots, going back and forth in time. There is mystery, romance, alienation, suspense, and a surprise ending. This is a "must read"!