A Family Matter
Marsha Briscoe
Whiskey Creek Press
P.O. Box 51052, Casper, WY 82605-1052
ISBN: 1593742029, $13.95 301 pages
ISBN: 1593742010, $4.99 (E-book)
©Christy Tillery French, Reviewer for Midwest Book Review (November 2005)
Salina Drummond marries a man twice her age in an effort to provide the best nursing care she can for her Alzheimer-stricken mother. Her husband, Lyman Graves, is the owner of a profitable coal company in rural Kentucky and a domineering man who controls those within his small community. Subsequent to her mother's death, Salina discovers that Lyman is responsible for a fatal mining accident for which her father was blamed, leading to his subsequent suicide. She resolves to force Lyman to take responsibility and exonerate her father from all guilt. But before she can do so, Lyman is tragically injured in a mine accident and lies in a coma. Lyman's estranged son, Mick, returns to Kentucky to see to his father after the accident. Although Mick initially plans a short visit, his attraction to Salina keeps drawing him back. Salina is likewise drawn to Mick, but each resists their feelings due to Salina's marriage to Mick's father. Shortly after Lyman comes out of his coma, he mysteriously disappears and Salina and Mick are thrown together in their efforts to find Lyman while under suspicion of the local sheriff.
Author Marsha Briscoe has an impressive background as a teacher of literature and as an editor and award-winning novelist and poet. Her second novel, A FAMILY MATTER, is an exceptional modern-day twist to the Phaedra myth, where a stepmother and stepson are romantically attracted to one another. Against the colorful backdrop of eastern Kentucky, the reader is swept into the inner turmoil of Selina and Mick, two good-hearted people surrounded by secret-keepers and corrupt businessmen. Briscoe paints visual imagery so vivid it will enable readers to feel as if they have stepped into the fictional world she has created. With realistic dialogue and supreme characterization, this is a must-read.
