Snow in September

Rating:
Summary: A winner
Review: Last winter, following a fight with his wife Meg, Bill Williams angrily left home, only to die when his car slid off the icy Colorado mountain road. Bill left behind a guilt-wracked Meg and a troubled teenage daughter Allie. Meg's mother Vivian moves into the household to help her kin, but she only adds to the tension and grief felt by the other occupants.

Bill's friend Sheriff Earl Sanders feels a need to help the females, but knows it is not out of loyalty to his deceased buddy. Though he hides it, Earl loves Meg and cares what happens to Allie. Everything finally comes to a head when a hurting and angry Allie runs away. Secrets that the three women have hidden from one another surface, leaving Earl unsure if he can really help the woman and family he loves.

Best-selling author of the Conard County tales, Rachel Lee writes a tense contemporary relationship drama. The lead charcaters are an interesting duo wonderfully supported by Allie and Vivian. However, the story line occasionally over heats with too many soap-like issues that are never fully developed or explored. Still, fans of relationship dramas will see Ms. Lee's vast talent and enjoy the novel.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Not a "Feel Good" read!
Review: Rachel Lee has always been good at dealing with the darker side of life but this book was very depressing and disappointing .

Meg is a very depressed recent widow with a runaway and suicidal daughter, an emotionally abusive mother and lots of dark secrets. Earl is the local sheriff and best friend of the deceased husband who has always had feelings for Meg but could never act on them. Earl helps the family bring all of their secrets out into the open and finally his secret love for Meg is returned.

If the author is planning on using this as a launch for a new series surrounding Whisper Creek, she didn't do a very good job making me curious about other characters and happenings in the town. I also didn't have especially strong emotions toward either Meg or Earl if they are going to be the main characters to build the series on. The best character in the book was poor Matt the abused teenager.

I anxiously await her next book because I know she can do better.