The Daughter She Used To Be

Stainless Steal Hearts

Real-life surgeon Harry Kraus skillfully weaves together politics, bioethics, and hidden agendas in this compelling medical thriller. Matt Stone, a promising young surgical resident, discovers that chief surgeon Dr. Michael Simons and local abortionist Dr. Adam Richards are secretly running experiments on live aborted fetuses, “stealing” their hearts to give to infants with congenital heart problems. Both doctors’ reputations depend on the secrecy of their research, which is a serious violation of hospital policy.

Meanwhile, Layton Redman, pro-choice candidate for governor, has a secret of his own-a staff volunteer is pregnant with his child. Redman arranges an abortion for the mother, but a serious car accident brings her to the emergency room, where Stone saves the life of her unborn child. This pits him against Simons, who was counting on the aborted fetus for his repulsive research project. Now Stone must gather enough evidence of the undercover experiments and expose Simons-before the vengeful chief surgeon ends his career.

Rating: Five Chairs – This book is so good it will be passed on and on and on….

Author:  Dorthea Benton Frank
Publisher:  William Morrow
Pages:  336
Genre:  Women’s Fiction
Source:  BEA

Goodreads:  When Jimmy McMullen, a fireman with the NYFD, is killed in the line of duty, his wife, Jackie, and ten-year-old son, Charlie, are devastated. Charlie idolized his dad, and now the outgoing, curious boy has become quiet and reserved. Trusting in the healing power of family, Jackie decides to return to her childhood home on Sullivans Island.

Crossing the bridge from the mainland, Jackie and Charlie enter a world full of wonder and magic—lush green and chocolate grasslands and dazzling red, orange, and magenta evening skies; the heady pungency of Lowcountry Pluff mud and fresh seafood on the grill; bare toes snuggled in warm sand and palmetto fronds swaying in gentle ocean winds.

Awaiting them is Annie Britt, the family matriarch who has kept the porch lights on to welcome them home. Thrilled to have her family back again, Annie promises to make their visit perfect—even though relations between mother and daughter have never been what you’d call smooth. Over the years, Jackie and Annie, like all mothers and daughters, have been known to have frequent and notorious differences of opinion. But her estranged and wise husband, Buster, and her flamboyant and funny best friend Deb are sure to keep Annie in line. She’s also got Steven Plofker, the flirtatious and devilishly tasty widowed physician next door, to keep her distracted as well.

Maine

For the Kellehers, Maine is a place where children run in packs, showers are taken outdoors, and old Irish songs are sung around a piano. Their beachfront property, won on a barroom bet after the war, sits on three acres of sand and pine nestled between stretches of rocky coast, with one tree bearing the initials “A.H.” At the cottage, built by Kelleher hands, cocktail hour follows morning mass, nosy grandchildren snoop in drawers, and decades-old grudges simmer beneath the surface.

As three generations of Kelleher women descend on the property one summer, each brings her own hopes and fears. Maggie is thirty-two and pregnant, waiting for the perfect moment to tell her imperfect boyfriend the news; Ann Marie, a Kelleher by marriage, is channeling her domestic frustration into a dollhouse obsession and an ill-advised crush; Kathleen, the black sheep, never wanted to set foot in the cottage again; and Alice, the matriarch at the center of it all, would trade every floorboard for a chance to undo the events of one night, long ago.

By turns wickedly funny and achingly sad, Maine unveils the sibling rivalry, alcoholism, social climbing, and Catholic guilt at the center of one family, along with the abiding, often irrational love that keeps them coming back, every summer, to Maine and to each other.