Different Cover Trade Paperback

From Publishers Weekly
What could have been a competent, topical novel about a mercy killing becomes, in Picoult's (following Picture Perfect, 1995) hands, an inspired meditation on love. The setting is Wheelock, Mass., a slightly eccentric town where most of the residents are of Scottish descent, where weddings end in a blood vow, the name MacDonald is "painted on an alarming number of mailboxes" and police chief Cameron MacDonald doubles as clan chief and protector. On a seemingly ordinary day in Wheelock, Jamie MacDonald, a cousin of Cameron's, drives to the police station and announces: "My wife here, Maggie, is dead, and I'm the one who killed her." Cam finds himself saddled with a murder case and a conflict of interest: his cousin has given in to the pleas of his cancer-ravaged wife to kill her, and he's come to the clan chief to confess. But as police chief, Cam must also prosecute. On the same day, Cam's wife, Allie, the local florist, hires Mia, a violet-eyed beauty with a genius for flower arranging. Allie gets involved in Jamie's case, and Cam, who has spent his life in service to his community and his clan, falls in love with Mia and begins an affair that will bring his marriage to the breaking point and change it profoundly. Like Jamie, Allie is the marriage partner who loves more. "It's never fifty-fifty," says Jamie. As Jamie's court case proceeds, Picoult plumbs the emotional core of both marriages. The pace of the trial is slow, but Picoult pays loving attention to her central characters, fashioning a sensitive exploration of the balance of love.

reserved for CdnBlueRose (tbr relay).

This is a very emotional story. Characters make you mad for the choices that make. There was a few times I wanted to strangle Cam, Mia, Maggie, and somtimes even Jamie and Allie.
Cam had an affair with Mia because it was an adventure to him. He wanted the life she had had. Traveling from country to country with no tie downs. Cam has a lot of tie downs being the Chief of Police and head of the Clan MacDonald.
Mia had the affair with Cam because she wanted what he had. Stability and somewhere to call home. So it would have never worked out. Mia figures this out and leaves for good but Cam never really does figure it out.
Jamie loved Maggie so much he would have done anything for her. Maggie asked him to kill her before the cancer that was eating up her body did.
Jamie did it.
I can't imagine asking someone to do that to me. Not that the pain wouldn't be unbearable and I would want to die but because of what it would put my love one through to kill me and the consequences they would have to face for killing me.
Allie is devoted to Cam and tries to love him enough for the both of them. So when she finds out about the affair between Cam and Mia she wakes up enough to realize that if Cam wants to come back to her it won't be the same between them like it was before.

Received yesterday from cheesygiraffe as part of a book swap! Thanks!

Reserved for the Raiding Bookshelves Swap - for Intrycksflikka!

Found a duplicate copy of this one today, so I'm sending this one on to Intry - my apologies for the lengthy delay - ENJOY the book!

Thank you Rosie! Look forward reading this book!!