Grace Sherman is lost and confused. Six months ago after a huge blow up with her husband Dan, he takes off, vanishes without a trace. Did 35 years really mean that little to him? Grace is convinced he’s been having an affair and that’s why he left. Her younger daughter, Kelly, a new mother, can’t believe her father would do that though her older sister Maryellen tends to agree with their mother. Now things are even more complicated when Cliff Harding starts coming around more often, and makes his intentions to win Grace known to everyone in town.

As with all small towns, everyone knows everyone’s business and there’s a lot more going on in town. Olivia Lockhart and Jack Griffin’s relationship is having some ups and downs, especially when Olivia’s ex starts hanging around more. Justine, Olivia’s daughter throws caution to the wind and eloped with Seth Gunderson, an old high school friend of her late brother’s. Then there’s Maryellen who had a one night stand with local artist Jon Bowman that resulted in pregnancy. And we can’t forget Zach and Rosie Cox who are headed towards a divorce. There’s always something happening in Cedar Cove.

I just love this series and 204 Rosewood Lane is such an emotional read I found myself crying more than once. Grace’s story alone is a tough one to deal with. Add in all the other happenings in town and we have a book full of the ups and downs of life. You would think it’s hard to juggle so many stories in one book and keep the readers interested in all of them. Not so at all. Debbie Macomber has a knack for getting into the hearts of her characters and touching the souls of her readers. Every single character gets their own time to shine and every single story is explored to its fullest. I feel as if I know everyone in town so well that it all feels real and like I could just show up in town and be best friends with everyone.

While 204 Rosewood Lane is written more like real life with everyone’s stories entwined, the title tells us who it really belongs to. That is Grace’s address in Cedar Cove and she is the star of this installment in the series. She still has no idea where Dan is and has finally filed for divorce now that enough time has passed with Dan long gone. She’s lost now and not quite sure how to carry on. It’s been so long since she was able to worry about herself instead of everyone else. When Cliff starts coming around after their first casual meeting, she’s not sure how to react and is quite torn about her feelings. We are kept guessing along side of Grace as to the mystery of where Dan is. When she finally discovers the truth… oh my heavens! Pull out an entire box of tissues because you’ll need them all! What a sad heart-rending answer she receives. I actually had to pull off to the side of the road since I was crying so hard while listening that I couldn’t even see!

I don’t know how Debbie Macomber does it, making me feel so much for her characters but she has quite a gift for exploring women’s relationships. With each book I read, I fall farther under the spell of this incredibly talented author. It still amazes me I never got around to trying her books until recently.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2008. All rights reserved.