From the Goodreads description: Katie Wilkinson's boyfriend Matt dumps her but to show he's not a total cad, he leaves her a gift, a diary kept by Suzanne, his first wife, for their son Nicholas. Though it's not exactly the diamond ring Katie was hoping for, she's unable to make herself destroy the diary-- against her better judgment, Katie begins to read. Drawn against her will into the other woman's world, Katie learns of doctor Suzanne's heart attack at age 35 and her decision to slow down, accomplished by a move to Martha's Vineyard and a new job as a simple country doctor. When love comes knocking, in the form of housepainter-cum-poet Matt Harrison, Suzanne is ready to listen to her newly repaired heart. Though painful for Katie, she begins to know and like Suzanne and her infant son Nicholas. Suzanne's devotion to Matt and their son shines through, as well as her plainspoken wisdom. While the journal helps Katie understand Matt, whether they can write a future together remains in question.I added this one to my Facebook list of books read and two friends popped right up with "oh that was such a touching story, loved it, cried right through" and I thought, "huh?". How can there be such a difference of opinion?! All I wondered at the end of that book was why I had wasted an hour of my life reading it. I thought James Patterson was kind of tricky to sneak this one into his collection. I am used to the James Patterson of thrillers and suspense and I like him a lot. This was James Patterson being more maudlin than Danielle Steele and Nicholas Sparks combined and I did not like it. It's coming out (maybe came out already???) as a movie and I actually read a review that said the movie was better so maybe I'll add that to my list.
1 comment:
Interesting, how our expectations of an author can influence our reading experience. I enjoyed this book; but unlike you, I've never read any of Patterson's mystery thrillers (though I knew that was his primary genre). Sparks also struck me as maudlin and predictable by the time I'd read two of his. Had he written Suzanne's Diary, I wouldn't have picked it up. Knowing of Patterson's rep, though, I kept expecting the twist -- like Suzanne had been murdered by the ex-fiance or the other Matt or even this Matt. I guess the mystery is why he would want to write like Nicholas Sparks.
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