Out of the Clear Blue Sky

Higgins (Good Luck with That) delivers an appealing tale of mid-life crises, divorce, and hopes of living happily ever after on Cape Cod, Mass. Lillie Silva, a nurse and midwife, is blindsided when her husband of 20 years, Brad Fairchild, announces he wants a divorce just as their only child is headed to college. Melissa Finch seems to have it all: beauty, brains, immense wealth, and a beautiful daughter in 12-year-old Ophelia. But what few know is that she began her life in poverty as Missy-Jo Cumbo in tiny Wakefield, Ohio; Ophelia is actually her niece whom Melissa got custody of after Ophelia’s mother was sentenced to prison for drug offenses; and Melissa’s series of marriages have been carefully calculated so that she’ll never be poor again. Next in her sights: Brad. Higgins alternates points of view from wholesome Lillie and scheming Melissa, ratcheting up the tension as the latter’s house of cards begins to fall. Higgins’s tight plotting keeps the narrative moving along, and her well-drawn characters feel alive on the page. This is another winner for Higgins. (June)