Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Genre: Fiction
Source: Purchased

Goodreads:  In this timely and provocative novel, internationally bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen takes us inside a family in crisis and a marriage on the brink after a tragic shooting.

How far would you go to save your family?

Every morning, as her husband Mike straps on his SIG Sauer and pulls on his heavy Magnum boots, Jamie Anderson tenses up. Then comes the call she has always dreaded: There’s been a shooting at police headquarters. Mike isn’t hurt, but his long-time partner is grievously injured. As weeks pass and her husband’s insomnia and disconnectedness mount, Jamie realizes he is an invisible casualty of the attack. Then the phone rings again. Another shooting but this time Mike has pulled the trigger.

But the shooting does more than just alter Jamie’s world. It’s about to change everything for two other women. Christie Simmons, Mike’s flamboyant ex, sees the tragedy as an opportunity for a second chance with Mike. And Jamie’s younger sister, Lou, must face her own losses to help the big sister who raised her. As the press descends and public cries of police brutality swell, Jamie tries desperately to hold together her family, no matter what it takes.

In her characteristic exploration of true-to-life relationships, Sarah Pekkanen has written a complex, compelling, and openhearted novel her best yet.

Ope’s Opinion:  OOH, this story was sooo good!  There are so many things about this book I liked – the sister relationship was so real and deep, the husband / wife relationship had it’s ups and downs ( again real ) and the secondary characters were fully developed and important to the rest of the story.

The only thing I didn’t really get into was Lou’s relationship with the animals at the zoo.  I wasn’t sure what that had to do with all the other things that were going on.  It was a side story that didn’t tie back into the main story.

The ending felt like what would have really happened to a family in this situation.  It was positive, but not sugar sweet and all was not perfect.