An Eternity in a Moment

Carothers’s shimmering debut explores an ambitious woman’s transformation after returning to her hometown. Erin Pryce, 32, is a rising star and the youngest ER attending doctor at Boston General, but she still feels an indefinable absence. When her best friend, Jenna Godfrey, is diagnosed with terminal cancer, Erin returns to New Dublin, Wis., the place she swore she’d never visit again. When Erin was a child, her mother was murdered by her drunken father, who was sentenced to life in prison, and her grandmother raised her with cruelly distorted religious fervor (“God was going to punish people for their sins and send everyone to Hell—except for her and a few other ‘devout Christians’ ”). Once back in town, Erin feels a spiritual awakening and receives some visits from ghosts, including her mother. The reader also meets Luke Mathis, an old schoolmate who’s now a handsome local police detective working on a murder case. After Erin becomes drawn to Luke, she’s reluctant to pursue her feelings. Erin’s journey as a top-notch doctor who craves more fulfillment is narrated with psychological insight and emotional depth. Carothers’s page-turner has a broad appeal. (Self-published)