An enjoyable book, written in an almost haunting tone with a more 'literary' style than I expected. I love it when I find a likable main character my own age (as I get older, they seem to be harder to find!) In this book, newly widowed Mary is at odds with her only daughter, and takes off to Paris over the Christmas holiday to revisit her past. That past includes a handsome French sea captain with dreamy blue eyes.
The daughter is a thoroughly dislikable young woman who has landed a gem of a fiance, but Whitson manages to make me care about her at the same time I wanted to put her across my knee. I figured out the plot's surprise element fairly early on, but that didn't stop my enjoyment of seeing the story develop. I wanted to see it played out, and enjoyed the way it did. Some touching moments, and even a chuckle or two. It made me want to return to Paris. There were just enough details of the setting to whet my appetite and lend an air of authenticity to the setting, but not enough to make me feel like the book was a tourist promotion gimmick, as many with foreign settings are.
This is the first book I've read by this author. Whitson is a good writer, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
