 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Juneberry Lake, Minnesota – Present Day Eliza had her life all mapped out. She would get a great job, find a good man, and have his child. But she fizzled at the childbearing part when she learned that she may not be able to bear children. For her fiancé, this was the end of their relationship. To start anew, Eliza spots an ad looking for people to move to Juneberry Lake, a small town in the middle of nowhere. With the opportunity to buy a furnished home, she jumps at the chance. The home sits in a small cul-de-sac, and Eliza looks forward to meeting her new neighbors. Except they aren’t as friendly as she expected. The neighbors have a weekly BBQ on Sundays but haven’t invited her yet. They also seem close-mouthed, especially when it comes to the woman who lived in the house Eliza bought. The former resident left practically everything behind, which makes Eliza curious as to why. Is there a connection between her neighbors’ reluctance to become friends with her and the other woman’s disappearance? LUCKY BREAK is a cleverly drawn-out tale about a woman starting over, only to find herself involved in a bit of a mystery. Eliza wanted to remain engaged to Marcus, but he broke off their engagement after it became apparent that she wouldn’t be able to bear a child. They remained living together, but now she has to move. Her job, luckily, can be done remotely, so the chance to relocate—to start over—appeals to her. Eliza soon meets the local bakery owner, Trish, and starts to devise a plan to help her bring in more business. She also meets Joel, a nice man who recently moved to the area. Like her neighbors, he is a bit secretive. As for her neighbors, Bob is sullen and not happy she moved in. Marge and Gal take in injured rescue dogs and are a bit reticent when it comes to Eliza. Lynette and her husband, Allan, are more friendly. Stuart is a writer with writer’s block. Each of these characters provides a colorful picture, and we get to see them throughout this tale. As for Eliza, she is a determined person. She wants life to be perfect, and when it’s not, like her inability to have children, she feels like a failure. In LUCKY BREAK, she will have to come to terms with the fact that the journey of life is not always the plan we want. She adopts one of the rescue dogs and soon settles in. Eventually, she does get to mingle more with her neighbors, including being invited to the BBQ. But Eliza senses they are hiding something from her. When a private detective comes to her door asking questions about the previous tenant, Erica, the mystery deepens. Are her neighbors telling the truth when they say they don’t know where Erica is? Meanwhile, two other things happen. Her friendship with Joel deepens, and her ex is trying to contact her. She wants to ignore him because the breakup is still painful. Will what he has to say help her decide her future? The deeper I got into LUCKY BREAK, the more intrigued I became. I suspected that the neighbors knew more about what happened to Erica. The private investigator is relentless, but so is Eliza. Will she find out the truth? As I became engrossed in this tale, I began to realize that it was a perfect read and needed to get a Perfect 10 (RRT’s highest honor). While there is some romance, the main story is about Eliza’s journey to find answers about her neighbors, but also to learn more about herself. If you love a story that keeps you glued to the pages, then you must pick up LUCKY BREAK. You won’t be sorry. Patti Fischer |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LUCKY BREAK – Jaclyn Westlake