An Accidental Woman

Rating:
Summary: Great reading...and not just for the beach!!!
Review:

I have to admit that AN ACCIDENTAL WOMAN is my first Delinsky book, but it will not be my last.

This wonderfully woven story about a tightly knit community thrown into turmoil over the discover that one of their 'adopted' own is a fugitive is everything a good book should be.

Delinsky takes you into the heart and soul of her characters and she creates them with enough human frailty as to make them believable.

Lake Henry, New Hampshire, and its citizens are honest, hard working and take care of their own. When federal agents show up at the home of Heather Malone and accuse her of being a woman named Lisa who killed the son of a very powerful politician, Lake Henryites are shocked.

And no one more is more surprised than Poppy Blake, Heather's best friend. Confined to a wheelchair for 12 years since a snowmobiling accident, Poppy is determined to live a normal and independent life. She has her circle of friends and her life is organized and orderly, until Heather's arrest.

Enter Griffin Hughes, the investigative reporter with more than a passing interest in Poppy and his own issues. He's there to help Heather, but he's also intrigued by Poppy. He met her when he was in Lake Henry to do a story on Poppy's sister and cannot get Poppy and her independent self out of his mind.

Delinsky weaves the Poppy/Griffin love story with the Heather/Lisa mystery with great ease. I felt as though I had been to Lake Henry, seen the snow, experienced the wind and lived through the thrill of a sap run.

This is not just a 'beach book.' You'll be thinking about Poppy/Griffin/Heather and the wonderful people of Lake Henry long after summer has gone!

Enjoy!!!

Rating:
Summary: No Accident - It's Charming
Review: Barbara Delinsky weaves a delightful story of love, friendship, handicaps, determination, endurance, hard work, reconcilations, worry, anxiety, bliss, and community! Wow - sounds like real life and it is!! Lake Henry and its residents are revisited from her novel Lake News with Poppy, Micah and Heather, Missy, Star, Victoria (a newcomer),Griffin and a host of other supporting characters. Their complacent lives are catapulted into disbelief with Heather's arrest.

Throughout the time frame the reader sees how the lives of the Lake Henry residents are intertwined, and how Griffin's return sets into motion the whole town's reaction to an "outsider" and Princeton (where I work) guy to boot, and his determination to "fit in" and make amends no matter how many obstacles he faces. Poppy, too, has to come to grips with her inner demons, self-doubt and pride before letting herself be loved by one fabulous guy!

The process of making maple syrup was an education in itself and something I assume an average person would know little about. Found it fascinating though it was not the focal point of the story. Micah's livelihood depended on the sugarbush and making maple syrup- a truly intricate and weather dependent process.

There are 4 love stories - Micah and Heather who have lived together with Missy and Star for years following the death of Micah's first wife; Griffin and Poppy - unconditional love personified; Victoria and Poppy; and the love shared by the townsfolk for each other. The story exudes love at many different levels. A very wholesome, healthy atmosphere.

In today's frenetic and uncertain world, it would be wonderful to travel to Lake Henry to enjoy the everyday occurances - sunrises, sunsets, lake views, loons, winter ice festivals, blizzards, ice storms, town chatter, evening socials and dinners handled as a matter of routine in a no frills down-to-earth way.

Cannot wait for #3 in the series. Barbara, keep writing - this was a great read - relaxing, educational, and lovingly written. I didn't want it to end. Has Lifetime picked up the rights?

Thanks Barbara!

Rating:
Summary: Could Have Been Better
Review: Heather Malone?? Lisa Matlock??? Who is the woman living with Micah Smith and his two girls, Missy and Star? That's the question on everyone's mind when the Feds show up to arrest Heather Malone for flight to avoid prosecution. Then it seems as if everyone's friend Heather could be a murderer! This scandal has the whole town talking. And it brings Griffin Hughes to town to help solve the case. Griffin not only wants to solve the case but to become more than friends with Poppy Blake, who is wheelchair-bound from a snowmobile accident.

An Accidental Woman had a good storyline with the Heather/Lisa plot. This storyline takes a detour and becomes the love story of Poppy and Griffin. Their story takes center stage and the Heather/Lisa story becomes the secondary storyline in this book. The character of Heather, who I thought would be the main character but wasn't, barely says anything throughout the book. She seems spineless and not to seem to care about herself or her supposed loved ones--Micah and his daughters.

I thought this book was a little too technical with the description of syrup making. I found the parts with Micah and the neighbors in the sugarhouse and sugarbush boring. I could have lived without the sugar lessons. To me this seemed to add nothing of importance to the story. It just filled up space on the pages, making this book longer than necessary. I think this book could have been cut down by a hundred pages and been better. There was just too much "filler" to the story. I have read two other Delinsky novels with a "who are they really" plotline and liked them much better. The story Heather/Lisa should have been the main focus of the book but it becomes obvious this is just a way to get Griffin to Lake Henry so he can charm Poppy.

This book wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I was looking forward to a suspense story with maybe a touch of romance thrown in. This story disappointed me. The main story fell flat and the characters were not very real to me. I really didn't care about them that much.

If you're thinking of reading this book borrow it from your library. It isn't worth buying.

Rating:
Summary: A CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE
Review: If Jennifer Wiltsie weren't already a favorite reader, she'd quickly become one with this rendering of Barbara Delinsky's touching story set in Lake Henry, New Hampshire, during maple syrup harvesting season.

Delinsky creates an inspiring heroine with Poppy who is now a paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair following a dreadful snowmobile accident that took the life of her companion. She struggles with both the past and the present.

Another woman, Heather Malone, has been a resident of Lake Henry for more than a dozen years. The companion of a widower, Micah Smith, and his two daughters, Heather is thought of as quiet, reserved, thoughtful. Thus, it comes as a great shock when she is arrested for murder.

Her arrest came about because of a remark made by writer Griffin Hughes to his brother, an FBI agent. Thus, Griffin feels compelled to solve the mystery surrounding Heather.

Delinsky, as in the past, tells an absorbing story that is also a celebration of the powers of friendship and love.

- Gail Cooke

Rating:
Summary: MyShelf.com Book Reviewer
Review: Step into the peaceful valley of Lake Henry. Be blown away by the
trials and tribulations that it holds...

Poppy Blake's closest friend, Heather Malone, has been arrested. It is up to Poppy to step in and take charge and to provide the support that Heather's family needs. Although confined to a wheelchair as a result of a snowmobile accident, Poppy refuses to let life's hardships stand in her way. Poppy's strength and courage is the foundation that bonds the family together. How will she feel when she learns that the person who has betrayed her best friend is the same person that she has developed feelings for?

Secrets have a way of unrevealing, just when you least expect it. . .

Writer Griffin Hughes first met Poppy while doing a news story
involving her older sister. He immediately was attracted to the
fiercely independent determination that Poppy displayed. How will he ever be able to tell her that, by a slip of a tongue, he is
responsible for his closet friend incarnation?

From the moment you turn and read the first page in Barbara
Delinksy's AN ACCIDENTAL WOMAN, you quickly see that you are
experiencing one of the most touching and thought provoking novels in 2002. Always when I select a Barbara Delinsky novel, I
mmediately know that I am in for a very rewarding experience. By
reading this book, there is no way you can not back up and read
Heather's prior story. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED . . .

Rating:
Summary: excellent mainstream tale
Review: The townsfolk of Lake Henry, New Hampshire consider Heather Malone as one of their own even though she only lived in the small New England town for fourteen years. Heather lives with Micah Smith and his two girls. They are a very happy family unit until the FBI arrests Heather. They believe she is Lisa Matlock, who killed a United States Senator's son fifteen years ago in California and then mysteriously vanished.

Griffin Hughes, a journalist, feels terrible because it was his conversation with his FBI brother that led to Heather's arrest. He travels to Lake Henry to work on his current assignment and see if he can use his contacts to help Heather and to romance Poppy, a paraplegic who fears that he is confusing pity with love. Griffin is determined that he will prove his love to Poppy no matter how long it takes.

Barbara Delinsky never fails to please her myriad fans and her latest mainstream work is no exception. AN ACCIDENTAL WOMAN stars a heroine who is impossible not to like and she's determined to be independent though she's wheelchair bound. The rather unusual courtship of Griffin and Poppy is realistic and charming. This novel will send Ms. Delinsky back to the New York Times bestseller lists.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read by Delinsky-Don't Miss!
Review: This book was an excellent read, and I enjoyed it all the way through.

Heather Malone has a happy life with her lover Micah and his two daughter's of whom she considers like her own. But intertwined in this wonderful romance, is a hidden past. It comes to light when the FBI come knocking at the door one morning. They have Heather under arrest. But the thing is, they say she's really Lisa, and that she murdered Rob Dicenza who was her abusive husband in the past. So flabbergasted, Micah follows her to the police station where Heather will be held in jail without bond.

Up in arms about what to do, Micah will seek the advice of Poppy Blake, who is an investigative journalist, as well as Heather's dearest friend. If anyone can get Heather to talk, it is Poppy, who is now a paraplegic from a freak accident. Heather finally tells Poppy about Aiden Greene, but only briefly. It is there that Poppy will begin to uncover the whole case, which is shocking once found out.

Griffin enters Poppy's life to help solve the case, and in the meantime the story takes another twist as the two fall in love.