Colleen Oakley takes readers on an off-beat, whirlwind road trip adventure--with an underlying serious message--in The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise.
Louise Constance Wilt is an
unpredictable, whip-smart, Atlanta, Georgia native. With the 84-year-old widow
hobbling around on a bum hip, her children, who live hours away, decide it’s
time for their mother to have some live-in help. Enter floundering,
21-year-old, Tanner Quimby, whose promising college sports scholarship--and
dreams of playing soccer professionally--are sidelined by a very badly broken
leg. The arrangement would appear a win-win for the two injured women. However,
after some initial, mutual resistance--and Tanner attuned to some dubious red
flags in Louise’s behavior--the duo set off on an impulsive road trip. When
Louise’s daughter files a missing persons’ report, the family discovers that
Louise has actually been living under an alias for years—on an FBI watchlist
involving a notorious jewel heist from Boston in the 1970s. Could this be true?
And does this have anything to do with Louise and Tanner suddenly going on the
lam?
Well-structured elements of
mystery and suspense infuse this enjoyable friendship story about lives
well-lived—however burdened by challenges and questionable choices. A lively
plot, off-beat characters and surprising twists bring levity to darker themes
that probe issues of feminism and aging. Oakley’s storytelling (The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, You Were There Too) is first rate. Readers will eagerly hop aboard this wildly
fun, greatly entertaining ride.
The
Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley
Berkley (Penguin), $27.00
hardcover, 9780593200803, 352 pages
Publishing
Date: March 28, 2023
To order
this book on INDIEBOUND/Bookshop.Org, link HERE
NOTE: This review
is a reprint and is being posted with the permission of Shelf Awareness. To read this review on Shelf Awareness: Reader's Edition (March 24, 2023), link HERE