Laurel Gleason, a photographer with a good career in San Diego, receives a call from the brother of the woman who was her best friend and roommate during college. After 10 years of no communication, Laurel knows the news can’t be good. She’s right; Caden Lodge Shepherd has a form of brain cancer and is undergoing surgery to remove the tumor in two days time and she’s asking for Laurel. So away she flies, back to Boston, to the place she vowed she’d never return.
This is the first work of Pritekel’s that I’ve read. Yes, I know, she’s been around for a long time and has a huge following. Now I know why. She writes a great story. She easily moves from past to present, giving the reader enough to figure out what’s going on when we need to know but not everything all at once. And their reconnection didn’t seem forced or contrived to me. I was drawn in and connected to the characters very quickly, particularly the narrator.
There were lots of typos and misused words – like the person who reached the pentacle of her career instead of the pinnacle or all of those times they went wondering around town instead of wandering – but, to be honest, they didn’t bother me much because I was so into the tale. That’s how I know it’s a good one; that’s the test. If I can still immerse myself in a story with that many typos it has to be good. My only wish, beside another go around with spell check and a beta, would be to develop the ending of the story a bit more.
I absolutely recommend Again. Now I’ve got to go compile another story or two by Kim Pritekel! Happy reading!