The Best of Me

Barrett’s second Return to Briarwood contemporary (after Once and Again) is set at the Briarwood, a Connecticut country club, where Jane Pringle has taken a job as an assistant pastry chef. Jane is worried that her abusive ex-husband will try to win custody of their son; Preston North, part owner of the club, is a recovering alcoholic with significant family problems. Love is the last thing on their minds. As Preston and Jane begin to fall in love, they have genuine reasons to worry about the stability of their relationship, and Barrett gives them both a degree of emotional intelligence and a good set of priorities, but the characterization lacks the depth to make either their fumblings or the inevitable resolution meaningful. In addition, a great deal of Preston’s character evolution takes place before the novel opens, robbing the book of suspense. However, the trappings of the country club and patisserie are evoked well, and the overall effect is pleasant, friendly, and innocuous. Agent: Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Associates. (Jan.)