Parker, Pennsylvania – Present day

After twenty-eight years, the sizzle in Addy and Lucky Lipton's marriage is missing. Gone is the spontaneity and the spark of lust, and Addy can’t even remember the last time they made love. Their son, Mitchell, is away at college, which leaves Addy the entire house to call her domain, since Lucky spends all his time either in his disgusting garage or hanging out with one of the Bobs, Bob One or Bob Two, who live on either side of the Lipton's house. Addy pals around with her sister, “Hell” (short for Helen), and the women in their little exercise group, the Sweat-Hers. Addy also claims squatter's rights underneath a secret tree out behind their house, where she frequently goes to sneak a smoke or two.

Lucky knows that the glimmer and glow of their union has got up and gone right out the door for him and Addy, but he just doesn't know what to do to get it back. He tries to talk to Addy, but even before he opens his mouth, her angry looks of disgust keep him silent. Just once, he wishes he could find the right words to say to her. He talks to the Bobs, but they can hardly offer sage advice, their lives aren't much better than his. But Lucky has a plan. For months he’s been working overtime, pushing the envelope to win a vacation trip to Costa Rica, and he finally did it! Now he and Addy will have beaches, sun, and paradise to look forward to. Ten wonderful days of blissful re-acquaintance.

Addy complains to anyone who will listen about how bad her life is and how she's thinking of leaving Lucky, but when he wins that trip to Costa Rica, she has to come to terms with her life and figure out what she really wants. Maybe this trip is a chance to change their relationship. Maybe she can find the man she fell in love with. Or maybe not. But when Lucky falls and wrenches his back while loading their luggage into the car, all Addy's visions of sunny beaches vanish, and she's still stuck in Parker, PA. Now Addy has some thinking to do. She’s smoking more and more, her doctor says that her blood pressure is over the moon (but does she tell doc about those stolen cigs?), and it's all Lucky's fault.

After losing her trip to Costa Rica (for which she blames Lucky), Addy Lipton begins to spend all of her time SEARCHING FOR PARADISE IN PARKER, PA, where, before too long, the women and the men in her neighborhood square off in this romp for supremacy amid the working class. Lots of secondary characters populate the pages, most of whom are previously mentioned. Even though this story is well written, I did not connect with the tale or with Addy, but I really loved Lucky's character! At least he has a loving heart. I have very little patience for Addy's type and her continual "poor little me" attitude. For all her complaining, she never once tries to talk to Lucky. It only takes one person to put that first foot forward, but Addy never takes that step.

SEARCHING FOR PARADISE IN PARKER, PA is a character study in female versus male relationships, and I am sure this book will be a hit with fans of the author's previous novels. However, I felt the tale is a bit like listening to a co-worker moan and groan about everything in her life, and blaming everyone except herself. Although Ms. Radish is a fine storyteller, this book was a disappointment for me.

Diana Risso