A PLACE LIKE HOME : Short Stories - Rosemunde Pilcher
St. Martin's Press
ASIN: B08FZ8P7TS
ISBN-10: 1-25027-495-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-25027-495-3
July 27, 2021

The fifteen short stories in this collection express poignant moments of change for different couples. Each story tells about love in a different way and through various adaptations: love ending, love's inception, one-sided love, lost love reconnecting, and more. Each story is unique, but the emotional responses draw the reader in. The support of friends and family also provides another emotional variant in the stories showing how they make life better. One thing I particularly liked was each story began with a black and white drawing of the female lead character for each story. Only three of the story setups are listed here, but they are all intriguing.

In the first story 'Someone to Trust,' Rachael fell in love with Randall, a married man to start, but he left his wife. Her cousin and best friend Sally's wary reaction to him made Rachael have second thoughts. Now she is trying to move on.

Joanna is still in the hospital after an appendectomy in 'A Place Like Home.' Her boss visits her, telling her he has arranged a brief recovery holiday for her in Scotland. At the train station she is met by a rather gruff man who, it turns out, is her boss's younger brother.

In the last story, 'Harbour of Love,' Julia loved her job as a fashion magazine editor, but the death of her sister and husband leaves their three-year-old son Christopher to either adoption or Julia's care. Julia leaves Chicago and her boyfriend, Ivan, who is currently on a trip to London, and moves to a cottage along northern Lake Michigan. She left Ivan a letter explaining what happened but doesn't expect to see him again.

If you enjoy thoughtful, subtle, reality-driven but tender love stories, A PLACE LIKE HOME is an excellent book to read.

Robin Lee