You Are the Love of My Life

Lucy Painter's past is full of secrets she is not ready to share. The father of her two children is married to someone else and has no plans to change that situation. She moves her family from New York City to a suburb of Washington, DC, hoping for distance and clarity. There she forms a tightly knit community with her neighbor, Zelda Mallory, as ringleader. Lucy's preteen daughter, Maggie, has reached the angry stage when she wants a different, more exotic and glamorous mother. Zelda fits that description—and wants the job. Lucy doesn't want to lose her daughter but keeping Maggie means that she must reveal her secrets. A crisis is reached when Zelda, who has secrets of her own, abducts Maggie. In resolving the crisis all is revealed and Lucy can finally move on. Shreve (The Lovely Shoes) captures and exposes human frailty and the psychological trauma to everyone involved when people try to hide from reality.