This is not my usual type of reading. If it wasn’t for X (Twitter), I would not have tumbled onto this one. I’m glad that I did.
I found myself immediately plunged into Harper’s, our protagonist, head, heart, confusion and grief. Struggling to deal with the death of her mother, a crumbling marriage and a newly empty nest Harper is desperate for the answers to life that many of us often seek. I equally wanted to give this character a hug and shake some sense into her for the entire read!
I asked Jody if the main character, Harper, is based on someone in real life.
“So, Harper is probably most closely based on myself than any other character I’ve written. My mom was 20 years old when she had me, and 64 when she died from breast cancer. For 44 years she was my best friend. We spoke almost every day. So, when she died, I was that mess trying to figure out how to push past the grief. Since my mom had dyslexia, she didn’t read much, but she listened to audio books and she loved mystery and thrillers. Her passion was restoring old furniture, chairs in particular, so those were the pieces I had going into the writing process. I wanted to write something for her and incorporate the chairs.”
– Jody Wenner
With a solid foundation set in the opening chapters Wenner introduces a suspense sustaining scenario with Misery like flair. What is supposed to be a visit to her father’s new cabin to meet his new girlfriend turns into something else. Harper arrives to find only Peggy, the new sweetie.
Soon after, a storm blows through trapping them both with no power or communications.
With the stage set, Peggy turns out to be an eccentric old lady that keeps Harper’s, and the reader’s, head spinning with suspense, confusion, and empathy. I found myself absorbed in wondering just how will Harper die or make her escape or did she need to escape?
Wenner delightfully kept me off balance with each reveal and would be clue.
The writing style sustains a pleasant rhythm that keeps the pages turning. Humor, suspense, and true to life emotional struggles make for an engaging read that is worth your time.
Give this tale and author a shot if you haven’t already.