cover image The Color of Hope

The Color of Hope

Susan Madison. St. Martin's Press, $24.95 (384pp) ISBN 978-0-312-25186-4

Ruth Connelly, a high-powered partner in a corporate law firm, and her hostile, resentful 16-year-old daughter, Josie, have been at each others' throats in a loud and painful conflict. Things aren't great between Ruth and Paul, her husband of nearly 20 years, either. A part-time visiting professor working on a book, Paul has been drinking too much, and both he and Ruth have had affairs. Summering in Maine at a house that's been in Ruth's family for more than 150 years, the family aims to unite by sailing to a nearby island for a picnic to celebrate sweet son Will's 14th birthday. But when the family embarks for home, a sudden storm capsizes the boat, and Josie disappears. All three surviving family members blame themselves and one another for the girl's death. Ruth, unable to grieve, loses herself in work, going to England for a few weeks to work on an important case. Upon her return, Paul announces he's leaving her. And as if this family hasn't suffered enough fracture and devastation, Will's health deteriorates; when he's diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Ruth and Paul need each other's support to face the rigorous course of chemotherapy prescribed for Will. They gradually reunite, and Ruth comes to terms with losing her daughter. But then a shocking twist of fate occurs to put the Connellys into yet another tailspin. Legal wheeling-and-dealing and a few overlong boardroom scenes slow down the pace occasionally, but this domestic drama is otherwise so skillfully crafted and smoothly written that even a plot development that strains believability doesn't destroy its absorbing effect. (May)