How and when do we know who we really are? Alex Rucker has searched all her life for this answer and still isn't sure. She is returning to Wilton, Ohio, for her mother's funeral after being away for 10 years. Her mother committed suicide right after her father had a massive stroke, and he is now in a coma. Alex's mom leaves a note for her simply stating: "Cat, he isn't who you think he is. Love, Mom." She is puzzled at who the "he" in this note might be.
Returning to Wilton dredges up memories for Alex of an abusive father, a mother who turned her head, a family who pretended it wasn't all that bad and the house from which she escaped all that time ago. Ashamed of her past, Alex thinks of how lonely she was growing up and still is today. She now depends heavily on the bottle to drown the memory of the tragedies of the past from which she is still running
Addison Watkins steps back into Alex's life and brings back a flood of both harsh and intimate memories, memories she has spent the past 10 years trying to suppress. Reconnecting with her brother and sister also causes old hurts and fears to rise again, and Alex feels the need to run once more. However, there are secrets she discovers on this return trip that tug at her heart to stay this time, secrets that may answer the question of who the "he" is in her mom's suicide note. Will Alex learn that we are not just a product of the worst of our relatives, but also the best of them?
Teri Coyne's debut novel, THE LAST BRIDGE, will tug at your heart with the turn of every page. She has masterfully woven a story of hopelessness, suspense and love. You will not be able to put this one down.
For ten years, Alexandra βCatβ Rucker has been on the run
from her past. With an endless supply of bourbon and a
series of meaningless jobs, Cat is struggling to forget
her Ohio hometown and the rural farmhouse she once called
home. But a sudden call from an old neighbor forces Cat to
return to the home and family she never intended to see
again. It seems that Catβs mother is dead.What Cat
finds at the old farmhouse is disturbing and confusing: a
suicide note, written on lilac stationery and neatly
sealed in a ziplock bag, that reads: Cat, He isnβt who
you think he is. Mom xxxoooOne note, ten wordsβ
one for every year she has been goneβcompletely turns
Catβs world upside down. Seeking to unravel the mystery of
her motherβs death, Cat must confront her past to discover
who βheβ might be: her tyrannical, abusive father, now in
a coma after suffering a stroke? Her brother, Jared, named
after her motherβs true love (who is also her fatherβs
best friend)? The town coroner, Andrew Reilly, who seems
to have known Catβs mother long before she landed on a
slab in his morgue? Or Addison Watkins, Catβs first and
only love?The closer Cat gets to the truth, the
harder it is for her to repress the memory and the impact
of the events that sent her away so many years ago.
Taut, gripping, and edgy, The Last Bridge
is an intense novel of family secrets, darkest
impulses, and deep-seated love. Teri Coyne has created a
stunning tapestry of pain and passion where past and
present are seamlessly interwoven to tell a story that
sears and warms in equal measure.
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