New Book Review: The Bookshop at Water's End by Patti Callahan Henry

Patti Callahan Henry's latest novel is about friendship, family and the difficult choices sometimes required to remain loyal.  At the center is a river house in Watersend, South Carolina that holds both fond memories and painful reminders of loss.  Bonny Moreland and her family spend three wonderful summers at the river house along with friends of her parents' and their two kids, Lainey and Owen. Bonny and Lainey developed and maintained a life long friendship, even though they are now separated by many miles.

The touching story mainly focuses on Lainey, Bonny, and her daughter Piper, who is in her freshman year of college. The three women find themselves back in Watersend at Bonny's request, though Lainey has deep reservations and Piper doesn't want to be there at all. The chapters are told by each of the ladies, along with Mimi, a local resident and bookshop owner who remembers Bonny and Lainey from when they were kids.

At the heart of this story is the mystery of Lainey's mom's disappearance during their last summer. Bonny, now an ER doctor, is facing some serious consequences regarding a patient and is using the river house as a respite while she awaits the outcome that could impact the rest of her life. Piper is facing her own demons of failing out of her first year of college, simply because of bad behavior. The peaceful atmosphere of Watersend is just what these women need, even if they don't know it.

MY THOUGHTS

THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER'S END is a multi-layered story and it melds the lives of these women together in a very believable manner. It does transition from present to past somewhat. I'm not a huge fan of that writing style, but PCH doesn't over use it. One compliant I have a lot when reading womens fiction is the predictability of story, so I was very pleased when the story didn't go where I figured it would go. The book has a strong plot and realistic, likable characters. The problems each of them are facing fit well into the dynamic and didn't seem forced or too complicated. It's just good storytelling.

Another aspect that drew me to this novel was the bookshop mentioned in the title. It represented so much in the book, mainly a place where the characters felt safe and secure being who they were or who they wanted to be. I love stories about books and bookshops so that was just icing on the cake for me.

This is a great book to take on vacation or a day trip to the beach. I love that PCH doesn't get bogged down in description, yet conveyed the breezy feel of a small coastal town. This would also be a perfect choice for a book club, having many different discussion points.

The bottom line is I highly recommend this book and would be surprised if it's not on everyone's summer reading list.  It would also make a nice summer birthday gift!

THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER'S END
Author: Patti Callahan Henry
Publisher: Berkley
Published:  July 11, 2017
Length:
345 pp
Source:

Disclaimer:  My review is based on an advance copy I received from the publisher prior to final edits, therefore changes may have been made to the finished copy.