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Synopsis
The sequel to THE CHRISTMAS BOX and THE TIMEPIECE, this novel again features David and MaryAnne Parkin. MaryAnne leaves David, who has been unable to overcome his grief over the death of their daughter 20 years before, and David goes in search of his mother, who abandoned him when he was a child.
Publisher's Notes
First Line: "As the graveyard fell dark into the shiver of the canyon's breath, the sexton, with the arduous motion of arthritic hands, donned his coat, hat, and scarf, lit the wick of a candle-lantern, then emerged from his cottage into the snow-draped graveyard to chain the cemetery's gates against the threat of grave robbers."
Industry Reviews
Aiming to duplicate the sugary success of The Christmas Box and Timepiece (which jointly have 5.5 million copies in print), Evans brings back David and MaryAnne Parkin, whose daughter died 19 years ago. A letter left at her grave suggests that David's biological mother is trying to make contact.
Stefanatos
Set in Salt Lake City during the Depression, this overwritten, tear-jerking tale of personal redemption returns to the characters Evans introduced in his bestseller The Christmas Box. Twenty years have passed since the death of David and MaryAnne Parkin's three-year-old daughter, Andrea. David has maintained an unvarying stoicism about Andrea's death, shutting out MaryAnne, who finally rebels against her emotional limbo and leaves him. Feeling thrice abandoned by the women in his life (first by his mother, Rose, when he was six, then by his daughter, now by his wife), David reads an unsigned letter in Rose's hand that MaryAnne had discovered at the foot of Andrea's grave. Immediately, he decides that finding his mother will lead him to the answers he craves. Through his quest, David confronts poverty, racism, personal demons and the temptation of new love. By striving to understand his feelings for his mother, David is able to reconcile his grief for his daughter and renew his love for MaryAnne. Evans again offers a surplus of melodrama and flowery prose, further undermined by one-dimensional characters and contrived situations. Readers who crave a huge dose of sentimentality, however, will be touched by this exhortation to moral strength in the face of tragedy. Simultaneous audio; author tour. (Oct.)
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