Honor and Grace

Honor and Grace, final book in the trilogy, offers readers one last visit with friends at Poore Pond School.

Throughout the series, you watched Hope struggle with haunting legal problems from her dark past. Have you wondered why a devoted Theo suddenly turned cold toward Hope in Book Two? You will be surprised in Book Three, by the astounding turn of events on both fronts.

Everyone’s favorite characters, Ray and Heather, grew closer in Book Two. In this new book, a shocking accusation threatens to jeopardize their wedding plans—and to destroy Ray’s very life.

What about Ian and Helsi? You will recall that Book Two left them suffering under fallout from Ian’s crime and consequential suspension from his job while he served probation time. Book Three finds them having come to terms with these setbacks. But it also finds them unintentionally back in touch with the mysterious Meadow family who, you remember, had moved away quietly in the night, leaving Snowball the cat behind. Ominous situations ensue between Meadows and Bradfords.

Poore Pond School continues to hum as it deals with a new school-dress policy and a fourth-grade decline in reading scores. Joy from seeing to the work of the school is diluted when a faculty member becomes a victim of spousal abuse and the entire staff rallies to help.

Excerpt from Chapter 12 of Ian and Helsi’s Hosting a Christmas Visit from Herb and Phyllis

Phyllis Meadow had a Christmas pass. Herb brought his wife and daughter over on Saturday, the day before Christmas Eve. Helsi had invited them for cocktails and snacks from four to six.
They drank white wine and eggnog and munched small sandwiches, cubes of cheese, and nuts. “How are you feeling now, Phyllis,” Ian asked as they sat comfortably in the living room, their faces softened by abundant candlelight Lucy had placed throughout the room. “Do your treatments have unbearable side effects?”

Phyllis leaned forward, resting her hand on Herb’s knee. “The bulk of my treatment is drug therapy,” she said. “And I have so much knowledge in that area that I can oversee my own regimen.”
“But you are under supervision of the medical staff of course,” Ian replied.
“That’s what they like to think,” she said, a subtle smirk on her face.
“Group therapy is a large part of your treatment too, isn’t it, my dear,” Herb said as if trying to help her credibility.
“Of course. Of course,” Phyllis said. “But when you’ve had as much group therapy as I’ve had, you learn to give them what they want. It becomes a silly game.”
“What exactly is your diagnosis, Phyllis?” Helsi heard herself say and was shocked. She looked at Herb almost in apology. His face was impassive.
Phyllis finished chewing a bite of Reuben sandwich. “I have a syndrome,” she said mockingly. “A syndrome that causes me to be overly protective of my daughter, to be anxious about her health and well being to the extent that I treat her always as a patient.” Her eyes moved from face to face, slowly and deliberately, as if daring them to react.
“But I ask you,” she began again. “Wouldn’t any mother who has lost three children in their infancy be driven to protect her only living child?”
Ian sought Helsi’s eyes and they mirrored each other’s astonishment at how out of touch Phyllis truly seemed.…