By Stephanie Gertler
Dutton
Hardcover

Imagine learning more about your parents after they die than you knew while they were alive. That's what happens to Grace Hammond in The Puzzle Bark Tree.

Early one morning, a few days before Christmas, Grace receives a call from her sister Melanie telling her that their parents have committed suicide. To add to that shock, the parents bequeath a house to Grace - an island home neither knew existed. The housekeeper who raised them knows of no house and is as intrigued by the news as the girls.

The Puzzle Bark Tree Excerpt It wasn't six o'clock when the phone rang the next morning. "Good morning," Luke said brightly. "I didn't wake you, did I?" "Guilty," Grace laughed weakly. "It's okay. The alarm is set to go off in about ten minutes. You sound wide awake, though." "I've been up for hours. Listening to weather reports. Storm's on delay. Stuck around Ottawa. Say I pick you two up in an hour?" "We're going?" "We're going. Got the snowmobile gassed up and a couple of blankets on the toboggan. We can grab some coffee at the diner before we head out. You okay with this, Grace?" She hesitated a moment before answering. "I think so. The lake is frozen. No thaw?" "Solid blue ice. Couldn't ask for more." "Okay," Grace said. "We'll be in the lobby at seven." ©2002 Stephanie Gertler Published with permission from Dutton

With her emotionally estranged husband off to Vail for the winter holidays (he doesn't see the need to forego the vacation for the deaths of two people they weren't close to), Grace decides to visit this new property. She decides this on New Year's Eve, braving the cold to drive to the closest town, only to learn it is too cold to head out to Canterbury Island.

This respite does afford her the opportunity to visit a local bar, where she meets Luke Keegan, a childhood friend she does not quite remember. Luke is the one who takes Grace and her sister to the island home, the one who tells of the tragic accident that took place there when Grace was three.

When her sister returns home, Grace finds herself spending more time with Luke, eventually falling in love with him. A traditional girl, she returns to her husband when he gets back from Vail.

Grace knows she must come to terms with what happened at the island home, both with Luke and when she was three. She also decides what to do about her husband and her future while remaining true to herself.

Bookworm's Briefing
The plot and the desire to bring the idea to life are in the book, but the writing and the characters do not bring it to fruition. The sometimes stilted dialogue, the dry descriptions and the emotional extremes of the male characters detract from the promise of the book. Gertler tries to build tension in Grace's discovery of her past and of herself, but doesn't quite complete the transaction.

There is much good in the book, despite these negatives. The female characters are believable and the reader should enjoy the developing relationships among all the characters.

Stephanie Gertler is the author of Jimmy's Girl as well as the writer of a newspaper column. She lives in New York with her husband, children and dogs.