Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Doubleday Large Print Home Edition (2011), 514 pages
Description
Jack, terminally ill and preparing to say goodbye to his family, has a miraculous recovery after his wife is killed in a car accident and struggles to reunite his family at her childhood home on the South Carolina oceanfront.
Media reviews
“Wish You Well” is arguably one of Baldacci’s best books, and he tries to recreate that experience with “One Summer.” Abandoning his usual thriller style is a bit of a gamble, and it will be interesting to watch whether readers will embrace or discard his latest book.
Baldacci’s muscle-bound style doesn’t do subtle: He is best at choreographing fight scenes, rescues and dire brushes with severe weather, all of which, thankfully, are here in abundance. Overall, though, the stilted language and trite sentimentalism are yawn-inducing.
Yes, it possesses all the subtlety of a dog fight, but it's also choked with pap ("No matter what you do, no matter how hard you fight, life sometimes just doesn't make sense") and so sappy you'd think Baldacci was earning a commission on each tear jerked.
Original publication date
2011-06-14