This funny and endearing novel of family, secrets, and aging follows
an elderly man who heads off on a joyride with a new young friend--who
may have some secrets of her own. "It's very different and it's very
special and it's very good! I loved it." --Dolly Parton
A driving force in literature, the one and only Lee Smith returns with a
road trip novel, a story full of hope and humor about not going away
quietly--at any age.
Aging Herb's charmed life with his dear wife, Susan, in their Key West
house is coming undone. Susan now needs constant care, and Herb is in
denial about his own ailing health. The one bright spot is the arrival
of an endlessly optimistic manicurist calling herself Renee. She sings
to Susan during manicures, gets her to paint, and brings her a sense of
contentment.
But then Herb and Susan's adult children arrive to stage an intervention
on their stubborn, independent father, and as a consequence, Renee's gig
with Susan--and her grand plans for her own life--start to unravel as
well. So much had seemed as if it could change for Renee, who is not the
happy, uncomplicated young girl she pretends to be. She is actually
named Dee Dee, and she's fleeing a dark past.
And Herb can't just let go of all that he has ever had. So, he suggests
one last joy ride in his Porsche. And the two take off north out of Key
West, soon setting off a Silver Alert. As the unlikely friendship
between Herb and Dee Dee deepens, we see how as one life is closing
down, another opens up.
In this buoyant novel, the masterful Smith asks: What do we deserve? And
how do we make it our own? Sometimes, you just have to seize the wheel.
Fans of Smith's many books in her storied, bestselling career won't want
to miss her newest novel. And readers of novels like Evvie Drake Starts
Over by Linda Holmes will adore Silver Alert.
