Something About Sophie

Something About Sophie by Mary Kay McComas
HarperCollins, 3/26/2013
Paperback, 320 pages

ISBN-13: 9780062084804http://www.marykaymccomas.com/

Description:

Clearfield, Virginia, is a sleepy, idyllic hamlet where residents welcome its comfortable, familiar routines. But when a newcomer arrives in town, long-buried secrets threaten to surface and destroy their haven . . .
Answering a call that summons her to a stranger's deathbed, a reluctant Sophie Shepard is too late to hear what he was so anxious to tell her. What was so important that a dying man would think of her in his final moments? With the help of Dr. Drew McCarren, Sophie begins to dig into her past, setting off a chain of events that chills the quiet town of Clearfield, Virginia, to its roots.
With part of her wanting nothing more than to put Clearfield behind her and run back home, Sophie knows she won't rest until she discovers the truth. But growing closer to the residents also means uncovering their dark secrets-secrets about the woman who gave Sophie up for adoption, the mysterious part these strangers played, and the life she never knew she nearly had.
Something About Sophie is a memorable story about the power of love . . . and the things people will do, both right and wrong, to protect it.

My Thoughts:

 

Something About Sophie by Mary Kay McComas is a mystery and a romance novel. The novel opens with a dying man, Arthur Cubeck, is killed for telling an unnamed stranger that he has contacted Sophie Shepard to give her information about her birth. Sophie, a kindergarten teacher, was adopted as an infant, but she loves her parents and never wanted to find her birth mother. In fact, Sophie's mother has recently died and she is still mourning her death. When she receives Arthur's letter, Sophie hesitates, but finally decides to go see him. Alas, Sophie arrives too late. She learns that Arthur has passed away, but she is startled to learn that he has left her something in his will.

 

At the same time Sophie is attracted to Arthur's oncologist, Dr. Drew McCarren. Soon, while tentatively pursuing a relationship with Drew, Sophie is also clearly in danger as people are being murdered for something they know. Sophie ends up staying at a bed and breakfast run by Jesse, who quickly becomes a friend and confidant.

 

Something About Sophie is set in a small town where everyone knows everyone else and all their past shenanigans. Sophie handles everything swirling around her with an aplomb perkiness that perhaps would be unrealistic in real life, but this is a pleasant diversion of a novel and so it's easy to accept her seemingly nonsensical composure just as it is easy to accept her immediately making friends with almost everyone. She's likeable.

 

McComas moves the plot along at a nice pace, passing along clues and information to keep your attention. I didn't feel any nail-biting tension, however. It is not a dark novel, despite the deaths and intrigue, although a final revelation is quite sad. Additionally, it is clear that everything will turn out good in the end so the novel is really just about the journey.

 

Highly Recommended - this is a pleasant read and would actually would be a great vacation novel.

 

Excerpt

 

Disclosure: I received an uncorrected proof of this book from HarperCollins and TLC for review purposes.