Review: A Well-Written Tale of Friendship and Redemption
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2014
This book focuses on Maggie, a successful author, as she searches for and ultimately finds three of her closest childhood friends.  After bonding and becoming their own family of sorts while growing up in an orphanage, the four individuals all went their separate ways during their teenage years/early adulthood.  Due to misinformation given by one of the Sisters at Bishop Street, each one of them is under the mistaken impression that the others no longer want anything to do with them.  After roughly twenty years pass, Maggie is determined to find answers as to what happened to her friends and hires a private investigator to assist.The author raises some thought-provoking questions as Maggie goes along her journey.  How exactly do you measure success?  Can someone who seemingly has it all be just as broken inside as an individual who is outwardly down on their luck?  How can individuals with relatively the same background turn out so differently?  Why do some people look for closure or revenge against those who have wronged them?  Can events of the past change who you are forever?This wasn't an easy read by any means.  There are some very deep, disturbing subjects explored here.  The author does an extremely good job of incorporating social issues in the plotline of this story without it delving into a preachy tone.  To temper the darkness, there's a fair amount of humor and a small touch of romance.  This is fiction with substance, and I found myself enjoying it in small doses rather than powering through it.One thing I would have liked to have seen more exploration of was the relationship between Maggie and Damon.  Maggie admits to having relationship issues due to her upbringing, though she is semi-smitten with the private investigator and it's obvious that he thinks of her as more than just another client.  A couple mentions towards the end of the tale suggest that they've continued their friendship well beyond the length of his employ, but the circumstances are not explained.  I'm assuming that their relationship is strictly platonic, but suppose that's open to interpretation.I really enjoyed this storyline and the characters that Ms. Schultz brought to life in telling it.