Pat MacEnulty, Time to Say Goodbye

Time to Say Goodbye

Pat MacEnulty

Twenty-five years ago, teenage exotic dancer Vera Lee Gifford was convicted of murdering the owner of the bar where she worked, his bodyguard and the wife of her boyfriend's lawyer. Though she remembers nothing of what happened on that fatal day in 1976, she went off to prison, but managed to escape two years later. Vera Lee reinvented herself becoming a college graduate, wife, mother, and real estate agent as Patsy Palmer living in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Her idyllic life collapses when her younger sister Fancy Lee fixates on finding her at the same time that Gainesville, Florida Police Detective Rodney Ellis seeks Vera Lee, whom he arrested back in 1976. Someone recently murdered Thelma Jackson, a former cellmate of Vera Lee. He believes Thelma's death ties back to Vera Lee and he will use Fancy Lee as a pawn to find her. Patsy's past has returned with threats to her husband and daughter.

Though the plot has been used frequently in the past, TIME TO SAY GOODBYE contains a certain freshness due to the interesting twists and turns that surprise the audience as revelations from then and now surface. The reactions of Patsy's spouse Tom is fascinating as he feels betrayed and wonders who he married and whether his marriage is a big lie; his reactions seem so plausible that they bring a reality to the thriller. Though coincidence occurs to often to move the suspense elements forward, fans will enjoy Pat MacEnulty's fine character driven thriller.

Serpent's Tail, Mar 2006, $15.00, 288 pp.

ISBN: 1852424680

Harriet Klausner