BOOKISH FRIDAY: “THE SHADOW WIFE”

Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we  share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.

Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.

To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56 and excerpt anything on the page.

Today’s feature is one of my newer books: The Shadow Wife, by Diane Chamberlain.

***

Book Beginning:

Big Sur, California, 1967

The fog was as thick and white as cotton batting, and it hugged the coastline and moved slowly, lazily, in the breeze.  Anyone unfamiliar with the Cabrial Commune in Big Sur would never know there were twelve small cabins dotting the cliffs above the ocean.

***

Friday 56:

She should be at peace now, in this paradise that was her home, as she neared the end of a long-enough life.  She should be able to embrace the world with abandon, to visit the seals on Fanshell Beach with nothing else on her mind but their huge dark eyes and shimmering bodies.

***

Synopsis:

Joelle D’Angelo’s best friend, Mara, is left with brain damage after she suffers an aneurysm giving birth to her son. Alone and grieving, Joelle turns to the only other person who understands her pain: her colleague—and Mara’s husband—Liam. What starts out as comfort between friends gradually becomes something more…something undeniable.

Torn by guilt and the impossibility of her feelings for Liam, Joelle sets out determined to find help for Mara, no matter how unconventional the source. Her search leads her to a remote mansion in Monterey, California, and into the life of a woman shrouded in mystery. Carlynn Kling Shire is a healer who, according to Joelle’s parents, saved Joelle’s life when she was an infant. As Joelle is guided down an unfamiliar path by a woman keeping her own shocking secrets, she discovers that while some love is doomed, some love is destined to survive.

***

Would you keep reading?  I enjoy this author, so I’m hooked.

***