Heartache Falls
Emily March
Ballantine, Apr 26 2011, $7.99
ISBN: 9780345518385

Two years ago, Mackenzie Timberlake obtained his career objective when he became a federal judge in Denver. His wife for over two decades, stay at home to raise the kids Alison feels hammered by the empty nest syndrome when their last child goes off to college.

She becomes upset with her husband, who is never there for her. Ali accepts a job in Eternity Springs, Colorado. She leaves her stunned spouse behind to relocate. They live separately for several months as his schedule keeps him on the bench and her new lifestyle keeps her four hours away. Reconciliation increasingly looks impossible for this pair.

Contemporary fans who have not tasted the warm miracles of Eternity Springs (see Angel's Rest and Hummingbird Lake) are missing a whimsical treat. The third wonderful entry focuses on middle age empty-nesters whose relationship in spite of love is in trouble due to neglect. Readers will appreciate the deep marital war in which it is easier to root for Ali-cat, but will enjoy, as Paul Harvey would say "the rest of the story."

Harriet Klausner