Book Blurb:
Flying Solo by Linda Holmes: Smarting from her recently cancelled wedding and about to turn forty, Laurie Sassalyn returns to her Maine hometown of Calcasset to handle the estate of her great-aunt Dot, a spirited adventurer who lived to be ninety. Along with boxes of Polaroids and pottery, a mysterious wooden duck shows up at the bottom of a cedar chest. Laurie’s curiosity is piqued, especially after she finds a love letter to the never-married Dot that ends with the line, “And anyway, if you’re ever desperate, there are always ducks, darling.”
Laurie is told that the duck has no financial value. But after it disappears under suspicious circumstances, she feels compelled to figure out why anyone would steal a wooden duck–and why Dot kept it hidden away in the first place. Suddenly Laurie finds herself swept up in a righteous caper that has her negotiating with antiques dealers and con artists, going on after-hours dates at the local library, and reconnecting with her oldest friend and first love. Desperate to uncover her great-aunt’s secrets, Laurie must reckon with her past, her future, and ultimately embrace her own vision of flying solo.
My Review: 3.5 stars
Flying Solo by Linda Holmes was a wholesome and what I would consider a cozy women’s fiction read. I think this book suffered from comparison to the author’s most recent winner, Evvie Drake Starts Over, which isn’t necessarily fair, but it happens.
This book had a familiar trope of finding an object or letter left behind and uncovering the secrets behind it. What wasn’t familiar however, was the object found and the uniqueness of a wooden duck. Setting another novel in the town of Calcasset, Maine brought readers of her prior novel a sense of familiarity.
Spoiler: I really liked the sexy librarian Nick and wish things would have gone in a different direction for him. Full-time romance readers will not be pleased with this ending, but I give the author credit for believing in an alternate version of happily ever after.
Quotes I liked:
Time is really slippery.”
