Mad Dash

Don't bother

I really tried to like this book, but I finally gave up and closed the cover after 3 days of forcing myself to read it. I got about 1/2 way through it and realized that I was never going to be interested in any of the characters and what they did. I didn't care how the book ended. This one is getting donated to the local thrift shop and maybe someone else will find something to like about it. I just can't.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Fun Read

Anyone who has had a rocky romance will enjoy this book. Even if you haven't and are just in a relationship you will appreciate the story. Sometimes you just have to look out for number one and this does that without ragging on the offending character. Both parties have their porblems and they have an unusual way of resolving them. Enjoy the ride!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Insightful

Gaffney writes her characters well and presents a believable story of a marriage in distress. Enjoyed thhe whole story much more than I had anticipated, and I look forward to sharing it with others. It would make for good conversation among friends.

ENJOYABLE

Light and entertaining, especially if you are 45-50 and thinking how did I get here?

A SMOOTH, SUPPLE VOICE PERFORMANCE

Decisions, decisions, decisions....life's full of them, isn't it? Sometimes we live to regret them at other times we're thankful for powers that help us choose which is best. Dash Bateman finds herself in a quandary, an unhappy one. Married for two decades to Andrew she now finds him bothersome. In fact, almost everything he does bothers her. Isn't it ridiculous that he needs a glass of warm milk at bedtime or that he forces her to go to faculty parties that he obviously doesn't enjoy? Their daughter has recently gone to college, and she lost her mother a short while ago. Now, it seems that's all that's left for her is Andrew and she doesn't believe that's near enough. Dash is convinced there must be more in life for her than what she has, but where is it or who is it? She leaves, retreats to their summer cabin. It comes as no surprise that recently Andrew hasn't found much joy in their relationship either. He's a college professor who likes quiet, and order in his life. He certainly didn't want the abandoned puppy they found on their doorstep! He thinks with Dash gone he can concentrate on his work and enjoy a peaceful existence.....for a change. Gaffney tells her story in alternate points of view as we learn more about both Dash and Andrew and, as it evolves, they learn more about themselves and each other. How strong are love's ties? What brought them together 20 years ago? It would seem almost logical that in an almost two character story an audio version would have a male and a female voice. This is not the case, and actress Laural Merlington does a splendid job of reflecting both personalities, their hopes and their dreams. Many will remember her for vivid narrations of Acts of Malice, Back On Blossom Street, Beautiful Dreamer, etc. Merlington is an experienced performer who always delivers her best in a voice both supple and smooth. - Gail Cooke

Enjoyable

Two decades together prove opposites attract and stay attracted. Impetuous photographer Dash Bateman thinks her spouse Mason-Dixon History professor Andrew is a prude prim and proper Andrew believes his wife is reckless. Yet they remain together raising a child in love.---------------- However, when Dash¿s mom dies at the same time their daughter leaves for college, she questions her life as she believes Andrew does not understand her anymore assuming he once did. She insists it is not grief or an empty nest or the dog it is much greater as she wonders is that all there is. She leaves Andrew at their house and stays at their isolated cabin to think about living separate lives. Andrew sort of moves on flirting with a professor and coveting the department chair Dash sort of moves back flirting with replacement mother, daughter and lover.------------------ Rotating perspectives between the lead married couple allows the audience to see how two people interpret differently the same incident (the real theory of relativity). Readers will want to know whether the Batemans overcome their frustrations with one another and their overall respective disappointments in life. Although the ending is over the rainbow, Patricia Gaffney provides a wonderful look at middle age relationships when the sandwich generation obtains freedom (through death and college) for the first time in almost twenty years.------------ Harriet Klausner

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