A Good Man

This book was a good read. The first book I read written from Judith Henry Wall was "The Surrogate" which I thought was top of the line. This book was entertaining but not as good as The Surrogate. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of Judith Henry Wall books.

Judith Henry Wall is one of my favorite authors, but this book just didn't stand out as much as some her earlier works have, such as Handsome Women, My Mothers Daughter, and even Blood Sisters. Now don't get me wrong, this really was a good read, but I felt it was a three star read until the ending. Rhonda, Holly, and Gina Kay have been friends since they were little. They plan on having big careers and leaving their little Texas town behind. They all go to the same college together, but that's where the friendship between the three falls apart. Rhonda's been dating her high school love Terry for five years when she leaves for college. Not wanting to give him up but not wanting to get married either, she sort of strings him along for awhile. Well, out of the blue, Gina Kay leaves school for good and marries Terry all on the same day. Rhonda doesn't speak to her for over two decades, and Holly's stuck in the middle. The three get together 25 years later, shortly after Terry's accidental death, and Gina Kay promises to tell the two women why she married him. For about 3/4 of the book I really couldn't stand Rhonda. We've all had that high school love-of-our-lives, but you grow up, get married, and move on. I found it really irritating that Rhonda just couldn't let it go. For being a big-shot lawyer, she was acting incredibly petty and immature. I understand why she was so hurt, but it's been 25 years...get over it. But in the end, she took the high road, which for the most part changed my opinion of her, and Gina Kay's story about how her life with Terry came to be was satisfying. While I recommend it, it's not her best stuff.

In Lamberton, Texas Rhonda, Holly and Gina Kay were best buddies attending high school together. Rhonda had one foible: her obsessive love for her boyfriend Terry Robertson, an heir with a suicidal attitude. Her parents forced Rhonda to leave Terry to attend college; eventually she became a lawyer. In high school Holly fantasized of becoming a famous fashion designer, but instead runs a successful wedding-gown business. Gina Kay was impoverished with an ambulatory mother until she won the Miss American Teenager beauty contest that included a college scholarship. The friendship between the three buds ended when Terry eloped with Gina Kay. The threesome is together for the first time in two decades at Terry's ranch now owned by his widow Gina Kay following his funeral. After numerous attempts to kill himself and passengers by vehicular suicide, Terry lived up to the mantra of if at first you don't succeed try again. With the object of their schism interred Rhonda, Holly and Gina Kay head to Manhattan to exorcise his ghost find reconciliation, and start new adventures with Russian immigrants in Brighton Beach. This profound character study looks deep inside the three amigas and through them at the late Terry. The story line hooks the audience who want to know more about Terry and his relationships with the trio. Though the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn enable further glimpses at the lead protagonists, that sidebar takes away from the critical essence of how a male can break up the strongest sisterhood bond (explained via well designed flashbacks). Judith Henry Wall paints a powerful family drama although the childhood friends are not related by blood, they act like siblings. Harriet Klausner