Erika Raskin

So this book took me quite a while to get into, but then stopped me from sleeping all night because I was so stressed about what would happen...
 
This story is fabulous because Marti is a mother first and foremost and the love that she feels for her three kids is so passionate and so real that I was feeling incredibly protective of each of them. I also love the way she navigates the work place and the people she interacts with there as well as how she maintains relationships with close friends, with her family, and with her in-laws--the latter more challenging than the others.
 
I loved the trial, also. I guess though I've recently been devouring everything suspense, I've never read anything set in an actual court with a trial going on. I found the back and forth between the witnesses and the prosecutor/defender to be snappy and witty and I could very much envision it all coming together.
 
The entire political situation and the dynamics of the workplace were legitimately fascinating and probably raise some real world issues. I'll be passing this one on to my mum, who works as a nurse, to see what she thinks, but I was appalled by the situation and how overworked residents were. The family dynamics also stunk and I loved reading about them and seeing how they evolved.
 
It did take me a good third of the book to really start caring about anyone and to get invested. The ending felt a little sudden and I had to reread a bit to make sure I hadn't missed something. The middle, however, had me reading quickly and on the edge of my bed with my need to know what would happen. Sometimes the way that the flashforwards worked were also a little bit confusing, but common sense solved this.
 
If you're interested in nursing, social work, or court, or just enjoy good suspense novels, this will be right up your alley.
 
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (altro)

Marti Trailor is a beleaguered mother of three young children, struggling to hold on to any pieces of her own self as she takes care of her household and family while her husband, Elliot, works endless hours as an obstetrician. When her youngest daughter starts kindergarten, Marti, a former social worker, decides to go back to work. She gets a job, which, coincidentally happens to be in her husband's hospital--something he doesn't seem too thrilled about. Once there, Marti realizes just how overworked many of the doctors are. She also can't help but get a little too involved in the lives of her clients. It's while helping a client--and skirting that precarious line between social worker and friend--that Marti sees something horrible happen at the hospital. This event will change the course of her life forever and threaten everything she holds dear.

This was an interesting novel, to say the least. I was immediately drawn to it, as the author apparently lives in Charlottesville, my hometown. This book is set in Richmond, VA, and she certainly captures the area and the state quite well.

The book is told entirely from Marti's perspective and it takes a little while to fall into the pattern of reading, as present-tense and past-tense are presented together in the chapters without any break (at least they were in my ARC), leaving you a bit confused at first. The back and forth can be a little awkward and jarring in the beginning, though once you get used to it, it's a pretty compelling device. The novel isn't exactly exciting in a thriller-type way, but there's a fascinating element to it that keeps you reading.

There's a lot going on in this book--marital issues, a discussion on hospital policies, Marti juggling work and motherhood, investigative journalism, discussion into Richmond politics, etc. Sometimes it seems a little too much: did Marti really need to be the daughter of a Congressman, for instance?

Still, Raskin is a descriptive writer, and her prose is fairly easy to read, and again, as I mentioned, it's a hard-to-put down book. She had me from nearly the beginning, when she described one of the characters as "Tommy Lee Jones in his heyday cute." (She gets me, she really gets me, I thought!)

As the novel progresses, I found it almost Jodi Picoult-esque. There's a strong emphasis on character development, courtroom drama, and plot elements designed to make you think. Sure, the characters are drawn a bit black and white--Elliot bad, Marti good, but it works: Elliot is just so awful you cannot help but like Marti even more. Did I find the novel quite as persuasive and enjoyable as Picoult in her heyday? No. But that's pretty hard to do.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. It's descriptive, oddly compelling, and was a nice change of pace from the thrillers I've been reading lately. Definitely worth a read. I'd go with around 3.75 stars, rounded up to 4 here.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!); it is available everywhere as of 08/15/2017.

Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Google ~ Instagram… (altro)

Marti, the wife of a busy, important member of the OB/GYN hospital staff decides it is time for her to go back to work as a social worker.

Marti joins a new department at the hospital that helps unwed teenage mothers.

Marti gets completely involved in the lives of these girls and leaves her children's care to her mother-in-law.

Meanwhile, Marti's husband, Eliott isn't happy she is working at the same hospital as he is. Their marriage is a bit rocky to begin with, and this seems to cause more turmoil.

BEST INTENTIONS dragged for me for most of the book even though the writing was good. There was confusion for me about where I was in the story. One minute Marti was at a party or with her kids and the next minute she was with her attorney. I never was sure if she was in jail awaiting trial or out on bail talking to her attorney.

It was interesting, though, to get a glimpse into a doctor’s life both at the hospital and at home. The insight into a social worker's life was an eye opener as well and frightening how medical mistakes could escalate into what happened in BEST INTENTIONS.

BEST INTENTIONS kept me reading because I wanted to see what the outcome of the trial would be, but I did have a lack of interest in the love affairs and other situations. The last 50 pages that covered the trial were the best part of the book.

BEST INTENTIONS had good intentions as a book, but it just wasn’t a grab you story line for me. 3/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.… (altro)