Cecilia’s is suddenly confronted with a big moral dilemma, all because she went up to the attic to find that little piece of the Berlin Wall, a souvenir from her travels to show her daughter who is obsessed with the Cold War. But in the attic she had found this envelope, and on it, written in her husband’s handwriting it said: “For my Wife Cecilia Fitzpatrick. to be opened only in the event of my death.”

But Cecilia is not the only one facing into difficult moral  choices. Tess O’Leary fleeing from her marriage after she found out her husband was in love with her best friend and business partner has come back to Sydney to live with her mother as she tries to sort things out.  She enrolls her son in the same school where her former classmate Cecilia’s children go and where Cecilia runs the PTA with her usual attention to detail.  Tess, finds that another classmate, Connor is now the gym teacher at the school and feels an attraction that is both disconcerting and satisfying.

Rachel who works at the same school is just about ready to retire.  She is enjoying her grandson and hoped that when she retried that she would be able to spend more time with him, but now her son has informed her that they may be moving to New York.  Rachel can hardly fathom her sense of loss, a loss made even more profound since she her daughter death in a strange accident more than 15 years ago.

Told from the viewpoint of these three women, Moriarty explores the complicated lives that women lead and the moral dilemma’s that they often face.  She shows us the way loss can distort what they see as reality, and the way secrets can change the way they perceive the ones they love and are closest to.  Moriarty explores the complexity of these women’s lives, with gentleness and humor while never letting go of their humanness.

Brenda’s Rating: **** (4 out of 5 Stars)  

Recommend this Book to: Sharon, Marian and Lauren

Book Study Worthy? Yes

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