I was extremely surprised....in a fantastic way... with this novel. I must admit when I looked at the cover I thought it was going to be a sweet, happy little book about a beautiful black Lab. That is where I was wrong. This is the book Picture This by New York Times bestselling author, Jacqueline Sheehan. This is the sequel to her novel Lost & Found. I did not read the first story in this little series, but I was caught up in no time to the story of 39 year-old recently widowed Rocky Pelligrino (nothing to do with the mineral water...which I just happen to have a minor addiction to). Rocky was married to Bob who suddenly died in the previous novel, and Rocky moves to Peaks Island, Maine. (Which sounds like a place I would love to live). She rents a small cottage and takes a job as an animal control warden while she tries to makes sense of her life.
In the last book, she rescued and adopted Cooper....a kind, loyal and wonderful black Lab. (I must insert some personal info at this point: Not only do we share our house with 4 growing boys, but we also have a yellow Lab puppy...Ruby. She is crazy and sweet, and she is beginning to grow on me, but don't tell that to my husband. I am hoping that Ruby starts to relax and listen a little better like Cooper). OK.....sorry about that.
While on the island, Rocky becomes close to several wonderfully drawn characters....Tess, Isaiah, Melissa, etc. She evens starts to have a romantic relationship with a man named Hill...Her life seems to make a little more sense to Rocky despite the tragedy that she was dealt. However, that changes when she receives a phone call from 18 year old Natalie who claims that her father was Bob....Rocky's deceased husband. She claims to just wants to get to know a little more about him and wants to know why he never came to get here while she grew up moving from one abusive foster home to the next. Rocky, who is on leave from her job as a therapist, is drawn to Natalie and wants to save her....and perhaps keep a part of her husband near her. Unfortunately, as the story begins to unravel, we learn more about Natalie's past and that her intentions are not so innocent...the story moves fast and keeps you guessing and reading! And through it all Cooper, the faithful friend, helps shape this story into something unforgettable.
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