cover image The Widow's Season

The Widow's Season

Laura Brodie, . . Berkley, $14 (308pp) ISBN 978-0-425-22765-7

Brodie weaves an engaging tale of grief and loss in her “What if?” debut. When Sarah McConnell's husband of 17 years dies in a kayaking incident, she is left widowed and childless at the age of 39. But David's body is never recovered, and after three months of seeing glimpses of her husband at the grocery store and her home, Sarah wonders whether she really is a widow. On Halloween night, David shows up at her front door and offers a plausible explanation for his absence, and Sarah is, understandably, relieved yet also distraught—since she's the only person who has seen him, is he real? Or is she going crazy? Brodie expertly walks the line between reality and fantasy, life and death, heartache and love, leaving readers hoping for the best and prepared for the worst—without ever really knowing the truth—until the final five pages. (June)