Going Over the Falls

Waeschle’s novel sustains a heady level of tension with its story of a young doctor who has a passion for surfing and a guilty conscience. While on a surfing trip in Fiji, Lorna Jacobs receives a call from a resident who works with her in the E.R. of the University of Washington Medical Center. Lorna’s mother, Alex Morneau, whom Lorna hasn’t seen in the years since completing her degree, has arrived in the Seattle E.R. with a mysterious illness. Before Lorna can decide whether to return to Seattle, Alex leaves the hospital, disappearing from Lorna’s life once again, and Lorna continues her vacation. She struggles against the bitterness she has long felt toward her absent mother despite their shared love of surfing, insisting that she’s “through chasing her down.” Nevertheless, curiosity compels her to start hunting for clues to where Alex may have gone, and the subsequent adventures are filled with troubles, epiphanies, and romance. An unfortunate number of clichés is offset by what is otherwise engaging prose, and the fast pace of the story and beguiling surfing descriptions will keep readers turning the pages. It isn’t necessary to be a surfer to stay submerged in this tale, and the ending is as satisfying as the tantalizing ride. [em](BookLife) [/em]