Sarah Tucker The Younger Man

The Younger Man

Sarah Tucker

Red Dress, Jan 2006, $12.95, 272 pp.

ISBN: 0373895658

In London, as divorce attorney Hazel Chamberlayne nears her fortieth birthday, her cynicism towards the opposite sex grows geometrically. At the same time the empty nest syndrome beckons, with her beloved daughter heading off to college. Hazel feels quite good with being a senior partner, and believes life begins at forty, but also feels somewhat lonely having not dated since her own divorce.

The firm has a new legal partner, Joe Ryan, who Hazel, shocking herself, finds quite desirable, as she has not felt that way towards a male in a long time. Joe, though he has a live-in girlfriend and is ten years her junior, reciprocates her feelings. Though Joe makes efforts to prove not all men think with that head as he is falling in love, Hazel refuses to step out of her safe zone as she knows an affair with a junior partner could cause havoc on the firm, and besides he has a lover; no sloppy seconds for her.

This is an interesting look at a boardroom romance between a senior female partner and the junior male newcomer; part of the profundity is the woman being the older person in the potential relationship. When the storyline focuses on Hazel and her relationships with her ex, her daughter, her staff, and now Joe, the tale is top rate. When her zillion friends share the lead, the plot slows down under overload. In spite of too many sidebar tidbits, Sarah Tucker provides a compelling relationship tale between an older woman and THE YOUNGER MAN.