The Senator’s Children

In the extravagant latest from Montemarano (The Book of Why), charismatic Pennsylvania senator David Christie has a brief affair while campaigning for president, and the exposed liaison forces him to quit the political scene. Stakes are further raised when his mistress becomes pregnant. David’s family was already shaken seven years prior to his infidelity when his wife, Danielle, an alcoholic, got in a drunken car accident, killing their 16-year-old son. David and Danielle’s 10-year-old daughter, Betsy, then became the glue that holds the family together. Even more drama happens as Danielle gets cancer and David develops Parkinson’s, eventually moving to a nursing care facility. Betsy and her half-sister Avery, David’s child with his mistress, have been aware of each other all their lives but have never met. Betsy has been damaged by a life in the headlines; Avery, who only knew her father from afar and had a mother both excited and bitter about her situation, is visiting David in the home but keeps her identity secret. Montemarano contrives yet another crisis to bring the two sisters together. The predictable result of their meeting is followed by the inclusion of a final scene from an idyllic day in 1977, seven years before the fateful car accident started the Christie family’s decline. This final scene is unnecessary, and a confusing conclusion to the story. (Nov.)