by W.S. Simons
ISBN: 9798989359400
In her debut novel, Simons suggests what we believe can be as much about choice as reality.
Set against the backdrop of cottage life on a small inland lake in Michigan, A Second Look is about two families and a community bearing up against loss and the unimaginable weight of horrific new allegations.
In 1960, two young boys drown in a marsh on a summer night. Though accepted as accidental, circumstances change a decade later when a stranger arrives asking questions. No one imagined a pedophile in their midst until someone comes looking for one. Suddenly, it’s all anyone can see. What they don’t see is the cover-up.
Forty years after the loss, a sister of one of the boys tends their estranged mother as she dies. The relationship is difficult to navigate, each of them seeing only what they want to see, until in the end, they stumble upon a degree of reconciliation with each other and the past.
A Second Look is a character driven narrative weaving three timelines together, skirting elusive truths within a fog of memory while the past maintains a chokehold on the future. Everyone involved is haunted by a history unrelenting in its ability to lay guilt at their feet.
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Reviews from readers:
“. . . a great read! A captivating story.” A Retired Fellow, Chicago, IL
“characters are skillfully drawn and very real. Their story absolutely captured me from beginning to end.” – pcam, Benton Harbor, MI
“ . . . This story hit all the high points of what I enjoy reading. “ – achristiegirl, Chicago, IL
“Beautiful sensory nostalgic descriptions of magic summers at the lake, the romance and danger. Full of wisdom, compassion and gorgeous writing.” – JEP2023, Indiana
“ . . .takes one back in time, to endless summer days, children laughing and fighting, … and everything buried underneath. . . A great read!” – Rebecca Trumbull – author of “Little as You Were”, California