THE GOOD WIFE

A novel about marriages, sibling relationships and parenting, from Porter (Flirting with Forty, 2006, etc.). This is the final book in the author's Brennan Sisters Trilogy.

The story follows Sarah Brennan Walker, the youngest Brennan sister, married to a famous baseball player, and Lauren Summers, once seduced, then abandoned, by another famous baseball player. The action begins when Sarah’s family gathers for her mother’s funeral. We learn, via flashbacks, that Sarah, the good wife of the title, gave up her dreams of going to law school to marry Boone and bear their children. She loves her family dearly even though Boone once cheated on her with a baseball groupie. In Lauren’s case, her boyfriend, with dreams of becoming a famous athlete, abandoned her when she became pregnant at 16. Her parents helped raise the baby, who grew into a young man with athletic talents of his own. Then tragedy struck, and Lauren lost her son. It is during Lauren’s devastation over his death that she enters the story, while catering the Brennan funeral. The book explores themes of love and loss, anger and guilt. Too much information about Sarah and Boone’s sex life sometimes interrupts the far more interesting emotional and psychological developments. On the whole, though, the story is believable, insightful and marked by witty dialogue.

A novel that may inspire readers to examine their own family relationships.