By Therese Anne Fowler
Satisfying Family Drama About The Messiness of life
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SUMMARY
Marti Geller’s doctor told her to get her affairs in order. She has been playing whack-a-mole with cancer for several years, but now there is nothing else that the doctors can do. Marti made all her own arrangements so that her three daughters, Beck, Claire, and Sophie, have nothing to worry about once she is gone. Marti has a long-hidden secret, which she intends to have revealed upon her death. What will her daughters think of this secret revelation? Marti’s last wish is to sell the family’s cottage on Mount Desert Island. This wish will come as a shock and a surprise to her daughters.
The three sisters' lives and their relationship with each other are complicated. Their mother was not the only family member with long-held secrets. Beck, a journalist, and the oldest daughter, is in a loveless marriage, and her secret dream is to write a novel while staying at the Maine cottage. Claire, the middle daughter, is a pediatric cardiologist and is recently divorced, and has been in love with another man for many years. The youngest, Sophie, hangs with celebrities and is an Instagram blogger, but she struggles financially to keep up with this fast-paced life and is way over her head in debt.
REVIEW
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS is a satisfying and nicely built family drama about the lesson learned from the messiness of life. Beck, Claire, and Sophie are all attempting to make the most of the lives they have built. Their secrets keep them stagnating. Their mother’s death makes them realize that now might be the time to come clean and embrace new possibilities.
The story is skillfully written, and the characters are well developed. The story's point of view alternates between the various characters, so be prepared to keep up. Their lives are filled with complications, difficulties, betrayals, and mistakes. You might even want a glass of wine to accompany this dramatic read.
Author Therese Anne Fowler has plenty of tricks up her sleeve here. She is also the author of the New York Times best-selling novel Z: a Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (2013). Raised in the Midwest, Fowler migrated to North Carolina in 1995. She holds a BA in sociology/cultural anthropology and an MFA in creative writing from North Carolina State University. Additional novels Fowler has penned include A Good Neighborhood (2020), and A Well Behaved Woman (2018)
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I listened to the audiobook for IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS and found the narration and the performance entertaining.
Publisher St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan Audio
Published June 7, 2022
Narrated Barrie Kreinik
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com
