Following her successful memoir, The Story of My Father, Miller returns to fiction with this dramatic tale of a family in trouble. Young, middle-class Eva was shattered by the divorce that followed her husband's infidelity but eventually bounced back, thanks largely to John, her prosperous and kindly second husband. During five years of happy marriage, he has been a wonderful stepfather to Eva's two daughters, and he dotes on their two-year-old son. When John dies suddenly, despair overwhelms the household. Deep in her own grief, Eva misreads the needs of her complex middle child, Daisy. Sad, confused, and feeling ignored, the teenage girl is lured into a sexual relationship with Duncan, an older man married to Eva's closest friend. Internal and familial tensions escalate until birth father Mark somewhat reluctantly asserts himself, risking behavior that may either restore harmony or impose further pain on the wounded people he loves. As usual, Miller displays a fine ear for adult-child interactions, and this novel's themes of identity, personal responsibility, and victimization make it a good book-club candidate. Recommended for most collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/04.]-Starr E. Smith, Fairfax Cty. P.L., VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In her riveting new novel, Miller once again demonstrates her singular gift for capturing the rhythms of daily family life with laserlike clarity while also summoning the turbulent emotions swirling just beneath the surface. Eva, the divorced and happily remarried mother of three, has finally put the disaster of her first marriage behind her and has even become good friends with her ex. Then her second husband is killed in a tragic accident, and the peace Eva has worked so hard to attain is instantly shattered as she succumbs to an overwhelming grief. Her middle child, Daisy, was extremely close to her stepfather and is emotionally paralyzed by the sudden turn of events, unable to process or even speak of her grief. While her older sister, Emily, pretty and popular, is able to reach outside the family for support, and her brother, Theo, is too young to understand what happened, Daisy feels utterly trapped by her own misery and abruptly embarks on an ill-advised affair with a much older, married man. In one of her shortest yet richest novels, Miller insightfully explores the shifting dynamics between parent and child, a married couple, ex-spouses, and siblings. And as in The Good Mother (1986), she takes a volatile sexual dynamic--in this case, an inappropriate relationship, bordering on pedophilia--and explores it from all sides. It's easy to underestimate Miller's artistry because her writing is never showy. All she does in this fluidly written, perfectly paced novel is to show us what being a family really means. --Joanne Wilkinson Copyright 2005 Booklist