In Susan McBride's charming and magical new novel, THE
TRUTH ABOUT LOVE AND LIGHTNING, a storm filled with
lightning and tornadoes brings a man crashing to the ground
amid a hailstorm of walnuts, and brings life back into
Gretchen Brink's lonely life. But will all her lies, little
and white as they may be, come back to haunt her when it
turns out the mysterious man might be the love of her life
returned?
Gretchen had been friends with Sam Winston all their lives,
but when she made a tragic mistake back in their teens, Sam
left the family farm and disappeared. So Gretchen told a
tiny lie to Sam's parents, that her baby was his, and they
welcomed her and baby Abby with open arms, leaving the farm
to her upon their untimely deaths. Now, forty years later,
the tornado drops a man in the walnut grove, and he doesn't
know who he is or how he got there. To Gretchen's amazement
and disbelief, he looks just like Sam Winston. Could the
storm and lightning have brought him back to where he
belongs, and how is she going to explain to him why she is
there?
To top off all the surprises, daughter Abby returns home to
tell her mother that she is unexpectedly pregnant and she
is thrilled to find "The Man Who Might Be Sam," could
possibly be her long-lost father. And then there is Sheriff
Frank Tilby, who just can't believe that "The Man Who Might
Be Sam" could actually be Sam, and who insists on wiggling
his portly self right into the middle of the action -- just
because he used to be (and still is) sweet on Gretchen. Oh
what a tangled web Gretchen finds herself in!
Susan McBride brings her trademark style of enchanting
writing to this intriguing story that is full of fun,
wonderment, sparkle and love. The characters of this tales
are simply amazing and personable -- I especially enjoyed
Gretchen's twin sisters Trudy and Bennie. Blind since
birth, they use their senses, both tactical and common, and
their wry sense of humor, to bring a certain amount of
levity to the entire story. McBride also takes readers back
into the lives of Sam's family, tracing back the magic and
gifts that make the men of the Winston family so
fascinating. And Gretchen and Abby's relationship as mother
and daughter is so endearing and special.
THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE AND LIGHTNING is a beautiful novel
that will leave readers with a feel-good sense of well-
being afterwards. This is certain to be a novel that
readers will find themselves returning to again and again
for repeated enjoyment.
The Truth About Love and Lighting is a deliciously
emotional story of family, forgiveness, love, and magic from
Susan McBride.
A lie that Gretchen Brink told 40 years
ago comes back to haunt her when a tornado brings together
Sam, a mysterious man who can’t remember anything, and Abby,
her newly pregnant daughter who is convinced Sam is her
long-lost father. Though decades old, when Gretchen’s
secrets are revealed, the ramifications will affect them all
in ways they never could have imagined.
A mesmerizing
study of family and love, The Truth About Love and
Lightning is touching and observant, reminding us that
we never know when our lives are on the precipice of change.