cover image The Lies We Told

The Lies We Told

Diane Chamberlain, . . Mira, $13.95 (384pp) ISBN 978-0-7783-2853-7

A hurricane's aftermath affects two sisters whose parents were murdered when they were teens in Chamberlain's (Secrets She Left Behind ) murky melodrama. Maya is a frustrated pediatric orthopedist who continues to miscarry the babies her anesthesiologist husband Adam wants. Rebecca, Maya's single older sister, is a free spirit working for Doctors International Disaster Aid and has no interest in having children. After two devastating hurricanes hit North Carolina, Maya and Adam join Rebecca at the aid organization, then Maya goes missing after a helicopter crash. Adam and Rebecca console each other, believing Maya dead, but she's been rescued by creepy country hick Tully. Nursed back to health by Tully's pregnant common-law wife, Simmee, an angelic seventeen-year-old, and Lady Alice Harnett, an eccentric African-American, Maya sees her life about to change drastically. Chamberlain provides an interesting glimpse into how disaster relief works, but Maya's improbable backwoods adventure and its unlikely outcome lead to a feel-sort-of-good resolution that doesn't ring true. (June)