Handle with Care

 

Handle with Care by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
4/14/26; 288 pages
Thomas Nelson 

Handle with Care by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen is highly recommended women's fiction novel following three women who become hostages when a domestic dispute escalates in the small coastal town of Sunset Beach, North Carolina.

Not much happens is ever happening in Sunset Beach, so it is shocking when a domestic dispute at the post office results in four women being taken captive. After a prolonged angry discussion with the postal employee, his wife Nadine, her husband Tommy quickly returns with a gun and the four women there, including Nadine, become his hostages. What follows is a gentle hostage situation, but it is also a deep dive into the thoughts and lives of three of the women, Sylvie, Morrow, and Blythe. 

This is not a fast-paced thriller. While, yes, he is threatening them with a gun, they can't leave, and the situation is frightening, but there is never any real sense that any of the women are truly in danger.  What the situation presents is the chance to take a close examination of the lives of each of the three women who walked into the post office that day. Each of them was planning to mail something that would change their lives. The narratives follows the thoughts of  Sylvie, Morrow, and Blyth. Also involved is Hope, a police officer with her own issues to face. 

Suggestions that this would make a great book club selection are based on the secrets each woman has based on what she was planning to mail. Each of their individual situations would be good fodder for a variety of conversations, and discussion questions are included at the end. Topics include aging, forgiveness, personal struggles, honesty, grace, and hope.

The novel is structure to resemble the five parts of a letter, which, if I'm being honest, wasn't highly effective as it might be in this day and age, although I can appreciate the idea. There were several other issues, some which were addressed after the novel ended, which requires setting disbelief aside. Most immediately glaring was just a front and back door at the post office, no loading docks, side entrances, etc. Additionally, I would have tossed the idea of a hostage situation out and brainstormed another reason for the women to be stuck in a room together for a period of time.

Handle with Care is a good choice for those who enjoy women's fiction where a group of women bond during a crisis. Thanks to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a complimentary advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.