Review: A Note From An Old Acquaintance by Bill Walker
- Paperback: 360 pages
- Publisher: iUniverse (June 11, 2009)
- ISBN-10: 1440133336
- Source: Author
It has been two years since the horrific accident that killed Brian Weller’s three-year-old son and left his wife in an irreversible coma. He’s lost everything, including his will to write. Brian is the author of best selling thrillers and has been in a writing slump since the accident.
One morning, he receives an email from Joanna, an artist from Boston he’d been in a “relationship” with fifteen years earlier. His feelings are torn: guilt for the feelings he still has for Joanna and anger due to the way the relationship ended. He ultimately decides to do a book tour in Boston so he can be reunited.
When he arrives in Boston his feelings for Joanna are instantly resurrected. The only thing standing between the love he has for Joanna is the same thing that prevented their relationship in the past: her husband. Brian has been through a tremendous amount of loss in the past few years and he vows to stop at nothing to make up for the love lost.
I have to give Walker huge kudos for this one. Long time readers of Jenn’s Bookshelves know that I do not read romances. However, when I read the synopsis, I felt drawn to this one. Imagine a love so strong that it stands the test of time! Walker does an excellent job of providing background on the characters and how their lives become intertwined. He uses flashbacks to introduce the reader to the young Brian and Joanna in the 1990s, detailing how they met and the secret romance they shared. The story then returns to the present, to a love rekindled.
My only problem with the book is Joanna’s apparent indifference to the affair she had with Brian. She didn’t appear to feel guilty at all. Granted, her husband was a power-hungry business man, but it is very evident he loved her. This one flaw doesn’t really change my opinion of the book. Overall, the characters were well developed and obviously flawed. And while I didn’t completely agree with the decisions they made, I was able to connect with them as a reader. Also, I’m a huge fan of the cover. While the object don’t really mean anything in the beginning, by the end of the book they represent key aspects of the novel. In the end, I do highly recommend reading this one.
