Maybe I liked this book, a lot.
Maybe you should read it too.
Joe Talbert is back, in a follow up to The Life we Bury (you should definitely read that one!!). A few years have passed and Joe is in trouble at work for not giving up his source, when a news report of an alleged murder catches his eye. The victim? Joe Talbert.
And so Joe is distracted from his work worries (and his girlfriend's stress about studying for the Bar Exam) by this question - is this Joe Talbert his father?? The father who abused his mom and left them? The man he has never even met? He can't ask his mom - they are NOT on speaking terms, after what she did to his autistic brother Jeremy, who is now in Joe's custody (his truth always begins with the word "maybe" which I loved about Jeremy, and about Eskens presentation of Jeremy). So, he goes on a road trip, meets some, um, interesting characters, and digs into what may be his past, with major ramifications on his own future.
Easy reading - Eskens has a way of making his readers super comfortable and almost a part of the landscape of his stories. Joe is a normal, good guy - well he tries to be - but he is only human so of course he messes up. But that good part does shine through, especially in the end, when, to paraphrase the words of MLKjr, It is never the wrong time to do the right thing. Will the right thing be good for Joe? Maybe not, but what and who he finds on this journey will make all the pain and decisions and guesswork worth it in the end. A story of defining parenthood, of forgiveness, of trying to do that right thing, of listening to the words you don't want to hear, of looking into the past to help you navigate the future. Can't wait to hear what my book club thought of this one.
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