Jennifer Paddock Point Clear

Point Clear

Jennifer Paddock

Touchstone, Aug 2006, $13.00

ISBN: 0743287827

Twenty-seven years old Caroline Berry left Oklahoma to attend the renowned NYU writing program. However, she drops out of the program as she struggles to earn a living. On top of her financial woes, Caroline finds she suffers from writer's block unable to put together two coherent sentences.

She needs a change, but the opportunity finally occurs when she inherits some money from her late grandfather. Caroline leaves the Big Apple for three weeks at the Grand Hotel, a family favorite in Point Clear, Alabama where she plans to write the great American novel. She soon meets a young man Walker on the beach. However, her idle time is devastated by Hurricane Ivan's assault on the Mobile Bay area and Walker vanishing. With a theme in mind, Caroline begins to write Walker's tale even as she investigates what happened to him fearing suicide will be the ending of his and her tale.

Caroline makes the tale as a wannabe writer who finds her subject. The story line focuses on her efforts to make it and cleverly offers the evolution of her work on Walker. Though everyone is super nice and cooperative and the action somewhat lacking, readers will enjoy following Caroline as she obsesses over THE SECRET WORD that will enable her to tell the world what led to what happened to Walker by writing about this apparent tragedy.

Harriet Klausner