THE LIFE SHE WANTS - Robyn Carr
MIRA
ISBN: 978-7-78-31967-9
October 2016
Contemporary Romance
Sebastopol, California - Present Day
Emma Shay Compton married her financier husband Richard when she was twenty five, and for a time, she was the princess who wanted for nothing, but now, at thirty-four, her life is nearly in ruins. Emma now realizes that she didn't know Richard at all, and she knew nothing of the Ponzi schemes he engineered that bilked hundreds of people out of their life savings. When a government investigation was launched into Richard's shady business, he ended his life and escaped persecution, but Emma was left in the hot seat. Finally, after months and months of trials proved her not guilty, Emma is unable to stay in New York. She is broke and has absolutely no way to support herself; Richard's Manhattan apartment and even her designer clothes were auctioned off, leaving her nowhere to go but home to California. There, her friend Lyle Dressler helps her find a cute guesthouse that she'll rent from eighty something Penelope Pennington.
In fourth grade Emma became friends with Riley Kerrigan and her family. Riley and her brother Adam were new in town, living with their mother June in their grandparent's house after the death of their father. June Kerrigan cleaned houses to support herself and her children, and she became a second mother to Emma. Emma lost her own mother when she was just a toddler. Her step-mother, Rosemary, seemed to hate her, so Emma spent most of her time hanging out with the Kerrigans. When Emma started dating Jock Curry, there was no separating the three friends until college when Emma moved out of state to attend school while Jock and Riley enrolled in the local community college. One thing led to another and Riley became pregnant with Jock's child. Hateful words between Riley and Emma caused an un-repairable rift; Emma left town, and has not spoken to her best friend since.
THE LIFE SHE WANTS is a complex and wonderful story of two women and follows their struggles and choices amidst some hard life lessons. Emma can't find a job once she returns. It starts when she decides her best course of action is to tell the truth about why she has no recent experience. Interviewers hear her story or read her resume, recognize her name, and the interview is over. She finally finds menial jobs paying low wages, barely enough for her to scrape by on, but she refuses to give up. And finally, Fate sends her some luck. She meets her father's attorney, Aaron Justice, who says he will look into her father's estate for her, and she also runs into her friend Adam, Riley's brother, who gives her Riley's business card. He tells her that Riley will hire her if she asks. Nope, not going to happen, but finally, she is on her last hope, she swallows her pride and turns to Riley for help. Meanwhile, local police detective Logan Danner is working for the Feds, investigating Emma, looking for money they think she has hidden away; but he's also dating Riley.
Filled with vibrant characters, romance, laughter and intrigue, THE LIFE SHE WANTS is another block buster from author Robyn Carr as she spins us a great novel that will keep you reading into the wee hours of the night and live in your heart long after the last page!
Diana Risso
