STONE CREEK – Victoria Lustbader
A Perfect 10
Harper Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-06-136921-6
June 2008
Women’s Fiction

New York City and Stone Creek – Present Day

Danny Malloy is heart-broken and grieving for his wife, Tara, who was taken from him much too young. His son, Caleb, is the sunshine of his life. He is thankful that he can get lost in his woodworking, and thankful for his five-year-old child. Danny’s mother-in-law, Eve, loves Caleb, but has never thought Danny good enough for his daughter. She can be spiteful and wants control of Caleb.

At fifty-four years of age, Paul Spencer still feels the urgency of his career as a lawyer. He is a managing partner of his firm, married the beautiful Lily nine years ago, and even though he is very successful, he still has the desire to strive for more. A workaholic, he keeps himself fit, defying his age. Lily loves her husband, but she has some reservations that she holds close to her heart, not wanting to think about it too closely. She feels distant from him in her aloneness. She decides to spend the summer at their vacation home in Stone Creek and, hopefully, Paul will join her there most weekends. More than anything, Lily wants a child, but she has failed to conceive. She is feeling lonely and out of sorts.

Lily stops at the grocery store and sees a younger man who has been watching her. Experiencing a sexual fantasy about him, she is amazed and frightened by the intensity of her vision, and has a difficult time putting the man out of her mind. Joan, Lily’s friend, tells her about The Doorway, a home for mentally challenged children, and asks if she would be willing to donate some time to do the paperwork to get it started. Lily agrees to help while she is in Stone Creek. Although Lily is living a privileged life, she remains unhappy and depressed. The inevitability of Lily and Danny both working on The Doorway, where they finally meet, doesn’t surprise them. The attraction is so strong -- what will happen as the summer wears on?

STONE CREEK is a very emotional book, and one that caught me up in the story immediately. Lily has lived trying to please others, not always thinking of herself. She is married to a very wealthy, self-absorbed man who loves her. Will they come out of this summer unscathed? Danny’s wife has only been gone for one year, and he is having a difficult time pulling himself together, but he knows he must for his son. Lily is the first woman he has felt such a strong pull toward and is disappointed to discover that she is married. Can they work together without getting involved?

An intense story that will keep readers turning the pages, STONE CREEK is a wonderful tale about two people who have come to a turning point in their lives. They both have some difficult choices to make. The writing is excellent, the characters delicious and very likeable. Don’t be surprised if you shed a few tears at the end of the book. I hated to turn the last page and finish the story, but I will certainly be looking forward to this author’s next book. This one is a Perfect 10.

Marilyn Heyman