Honey and Leonard

Smith (Rock and Roll Voodoo) takes on the topic of love in one’s twilight years in this uplifting tale. Widow Honey Waldrop and widower Leonard Atkins begin the novel happily in love despite Leonard’s battle with the early stages of Alzheimer’s and his scheming niece Gretchen’s insistence that she keep power of attorney over him. But when Leonard’s blood work shows an unusually high level of arsenic, Honey becomes a person of interest for allegedly poisoning him. The couple flees the law in favor of a romantic trip to Paris, insisting that the arsenic is from Leonard’s years of working with pesticides on farms, and their story becomes international front-page news, billed as “the Bonnie and Clyde of love.” Their love grows as they navigate newfound fame, failing health, and a foreign city; memory lapses and greedy heirs vying for inheritance money add depth. Though the prose is somewhat stilted, the premise is refreshing enough to keep readers engaged. Smith imbues his story of elders in love with plenty of rakish charm. (Nov.)