Rating: 
Summary: engaging character study
Review: As children, sisters Grace and Melanie never felt close to their parents, who for whatever reason never blanketed the siblings with nurturing love. Now as an adult with her own child, Grace feels her marriage mirrors that of her parents though she showers love on her cherished daughter Kate. Suffering from a recurring nightmare of drowning, Grace believes she has no one to turn to for help especially her parents and her husband.When her parents suddenly die in a tragedy, Grace inherits their Canterbury Island home in New York. Surprising everyone, Grace decides to spend New Year's at the house rather than her annual time with family members. There Grace looks into her family history guided by local fisherman Luke Keegan, who will help her with her past and perhaps attain a loving future if she heeds Melanie's advice. THE PUZZLE BARK TREE is an engaging character study that ties the shrouded past with an unhappy present in a finding one's true self story line. The tale turns overly emotional at times, but the audience will devour all that angst as Grace seeks contentment learning a life lesson of "to thine own self be true". Fans of insightful contemporary fiction will want to join Grace on her journey to Nirvana that Stephanie Gertler portrays so eloquently. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Actually 4 1/2 stars!
Review: I really enjoyed this book, and the only reason I didn't give it five stars is (with my apologies to the author), the book is pretty formula. If you read Nora Roberts or people like her, you pretty much know where the book is going and what will happen along the way. That said....I really liked this book anyway. There was just something that grabbed me right away, and I read the book in a couple of days, I didn't want to put it down. I really liked the characters, and I got so involved with them. I cried at one point so hard, my family came running to see what was wrong!
Read this book and enjoy it, I know I did!
Rating: 
Summary: Stephanie Gertler does it again!
Review: Melanie and Grace's parents have always been very cold and aloof. When they commit sucide together, Melanie is astounded to find out that she has inherited a house on an island that she never even knew existed. All through her life she has had nightmares about water but never knew the reason. She decides to find out more about the house and her mysterious parents. Little by little, truths are revealed that they never could even have dreamed about. Why has the house been left exactly as it was for so many years? What made her parents leave the island so suddenly and never return? And why do the people in the town remember her parents so differently than she and her sister do? Finding the answers to these questions will keep you turning the pages until the fully satisfactory ending. Another really good summer read.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful novel of transformation and healing
Review: Since childhood, a dream has haunted Grace Hammond Barnett. Only after her parent's suicide does Grace realize that her dream is actually a repressed memory and a key to forgotten past. She and her sister Melanie had always know their parents were different than other parents -- little more than vague shadows that passed through their lives restricting music and laughter with their dark presence. Only the housekeeper Jemma filled the girl's need for fun and frivolity, for hugs and unquestionable love. The free spirited Grace grows up to marry a man as emotionally barren as her parents. Over the years, her bohemian skirts and long silver earrings cease to suit this highly respected cardiac surgeon. Ironic really, that a man who heals hearts refuses to touch the emotions of his own or another. Even with the death of Grace's parents, Adam refuses to accompany her to the scene when the call comes. But his absence leaves room for extraordinary change when Grace learns of the clues that lead to the answer of her parent's silence and the secrets that will forever redefine her life. Author Stephanie Gertler displays a dazzling skill for charting the transformations of the heart in THE PUZZLE BARK TREE. Grace's parents become a powerful presence in the novel, ironically through their absences and odd restraint. Gertler skillfully captures Grace's mother's devastated psyche with powerful imagery and gentle understanding, never excusing her withdrawal yet treating it with compassion. Indeed, the women of the novel sparkle with a shimmering passion and presence, though the men are so strongly juxtaposed as to become stereotypes. Nevertheless, Gertler's flowing narrative weaves a mesmerizing tale of sorrow, transformation and healing. Moreover, Gertler's distinctive rich voice speaks with incredible sensitivity and wisdom. A beautifully realized puzzle comprised of the past and the future, of grief and of joy, THE PUZZLE TREE comes highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Page Turner - Great Read!
Review: Stephanie Gertler has written an interesting, engaging novel about family secrets and finding oneself despite them. Grace and Melanie are sisters who truly compliment one another. I found myself wanting to read this every spare moment to find out what would happen next. I must confess that the story line was somewhat simplistic and I longed for something unpredictable to happen. That was not Stephanie's style and although I would have liked a surprise, the story still held my interest. I highly recommend this book. I believe you will find it one of those books you just can't put down. Thank you Stephanie for giving me another wonderful read!
Rating:
Summary: Do You Read a Book for its Title?
Review: Stephanie Gertler's title "The Puzzle Bark Tree" is symbolism but you'll have to read far into the book to find the metaphor in a tree trunk. However, the first paragraph of her prologue sets up an immediate cut-to-the-chase, a puzzle that demands solution, exactly what we readers want. Gertler's pacing almost always races. You eagerly await the next chapter until you get to the middle of the book and, alas, the puzzle is solved. It's a letdown. You wonder why half the book remains to be read. You consider quitting, then something you never saw coming plummets, and your nose dives right back inside her book. This novel is part mystery, psychological suspense and love story, essential ingredients of the proverbial good read. Three deaths are part of the mystery but it's not a whodunit; it's not a 'how'; it's a 'why'. A married couple with grown children commit suicide on the same night. An enigmatic note, left unfinished, is found. Given the history of these two depressed and detached parents who literally turned over the raising of their two daughters to a live-in housekeeper, their tragic deaths, although not incredible, demands answers. What was the root cause that finally led them to give up? Unraveling one daughter's dreams provides answers. Since her childhood, Grace Hammond, elder sister of Melanie suffered recurring dreams of drowning. As a married woman, Grace still cannot go near the water. Eventually, she realizes, the keys unlocking buried memories lay in her dreams. Her husband, renowned heart surgeon, demands she see a psychiatrist, but not because he believes it would help her; he's got no patience for such nonsense, he shouts at her. He's very good at repairing strangers' hearts, but excels at breaking his wife's. Stephanie Gertler writes simply and easily in short chapters that glide you along page after page, then suddenly stop you with a 'wow' event you'll want to stop and digest. Of course there's a happy ending. Your ride to it is by reckless roller coaster of steep hills to climb, low valleys to cruise. At the end of the ride, you move on, embracing the future and The Puzzle Bark Tree.
Rating:
Summary: Do You Read a Book for its Title?
Review: Stephanie Gertler's title "The Puzzle Bark Tree" is symbolism but you'll have to read far into the book to find the metaphor in a tree trunk. However, the first paragraph of her prologue sets up an immediate cut-to-the-chase, a puzzle that demands solution, exactly what we readers want. Gertler's pacing almost always races. You eagerly await the next chapter until you get to the middle of the book and, alas, the puzzle is solved. It's a letdown. You wonder why half the book remains to be read. You consider quitting, then something you never saw coming plummets, and your nose dives right back inside her book. This novel is part mystery, psychological suspense and love story, essential ingredients of the proverbial good read. Three deaths are part of the mystery but it's not a whodunit; it's not a 'how'; it's a 'why'. A married couple with grown children commit suicide on the same night. An enigmatic note, left unfinished, is found. Given the history of these two depressed and detached parents who literally turned over the raising of their two daughters to a live-in housekeeper, their tragic deaths, although not incredible, demands answers. What was the root cause that finally led them to give up? Unraveling one daughter's dreams provides answers. Since her childhood, Grace Hammond, elder sister of Melanie suffered recurring dreams of drowning. As a married woman, Grace still cannot go near the water. Eventually, she realizes, the keys unlocking buried memories lay in her dreams. Her husband, renowned heart surgeon, demands she see a psychiatrist, but not because he believes it would help her; he's got no patience for such nonsense, he shouts at her. He's very good at repairing strangers' hearts, but excels at breaking his wife's. Stephanie Gertler writes simply and easily in short chapters that glide you along page after page, then suddenly stop you with a 'wow' event you'll want to stop and digest. Of course there's a happy ending. Your ride to it is by reckless roller coaster of steep hills to climb, low valleys to cruise. At the end of the ride, you move on, embracing the future and The Puzzle Bark Tree.
Rating:
Summary: well written but story was lacking
Review: The first part of this book is very fast paced and keeps you turning the pages to see what happened to Grace and Melissa's parents in the past to uncover why they committ suicide and why their lives were so empty. The secret is revealed mid~book but there really isn't more and I was alittle disappointed. Worth reading but realize you know the truth all at once and there isn't anything more to learn the rest of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Rich characters, great escape
Review: THE PUZZLE BARK TREE is a delight. I found myself taking my time reading it, not wanting it to end. The characters are richly detailed, and although I didn't relate to their circumstances, I could relate to THEM. I fell in love with some of them and truly despised some of them. The focus of the book is around Grace, and I found myself grieving with her, being confused with her, loving with her and hating with her. You will create your own perfect cabin on an island as you escape into the lush settings. Stephanie Gertler has written a great follow up to the wonderful JIMMY'S GIRL, which I also loved.
Rating: 
Summary: Good story, but nothing new here.
Review: This was an okay read, a good story, but no new ground in the plot. Grace is left an island that was owned by her parents after they committed suicide. No one in the family knew about this island, so its existence and the home that was there is somewhat of a mystery. This story is about Grace and her sister's quest to discover why their parents were so troubled, cold and why they lost the will to live. I liked the characters, but there was nothing original or new in this type of story. It was not compelling, but I did want to know how Grace would deal with her issues so I stuck it out to the end. Only a three star read.
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