©picture by scribbles (Marye McKenney)

Monday, January 25, 2021

The Shell Collector



 Nancy Naigle is a new author for me, but  I found this introduction to be quite moving.  I am not sure if the main character is Amanda Whittier or Maeve Lindsay.  Their stories are so intertwined that it's hard to tell who takes center stage.  

Amanda is a widowed Marine wife and mother who moves to Whelks Island for a chance to start over and possibly start her home-based business. She buys a fixer-upper cottage by the beach and finds solace through her neighbor, Maeve. It is through the friendship she builds with Maeve that she comes to the point of being able to find love again.  

Paul was the best friend of Amanda's husband, Jack. By chance, he meets up with Amanda on the beach as he was running past while Amanda and her children were playing.  Amanda's daughter, Hailey, believes at first that Paul is her father who finally came back to them.  But when Hailey sees who it really is, she finds someone she knew but had forgotten about.  

Cancer comes to play in the final stages of the book and it was something to which I could relate quite well.  Seventeen and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer and told that while it was not curable, it was treatable.  Much of what Nancy described of Maeve's journey resonated with me, and the faith exhibited by the characters in the throes of Maeve's final days is something that I could relate to extremely well. 

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a large box of facial tissues to wipe the copious amount of tears that will be shed. 

Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

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