The Testament of Harold’s Wife

A widower takes up her late husband’s mission to get revenge on the man who killed their grandson in the gripping latest from Hugo (Graceland). Louisa and Harold run a small farm in rural Indiana, and their greatest joy is their five-year-old grandson, Cody. When Cody is hit and killed by a drunk driver, their lives are shattered. As Louisa struggles to care for her distraught son, Gary, Harold begins plotting to destroy the man responsible for the crash—but he kills himself before carrying out his plan. Now, one year after his death, Louisa has decided to do it for him. Though the plot is promising and Louisa is a charming protagonist, Hugo tells most of the story through flashbacks that often pull the reader out of the scene and leave the current lives of the characters feeling stagnant. In an underdeveloped subplot, Louisa must keep a romantically interested sheriff away, but the vengeance plot and the revelation of Louisa’s tragic past drive the book . Hugo’s novel of thwarted redemption is a strange mix of caper and thriller that, disappointingly, never allows readers access to the whole of Louisa’s experience. (Oct.)