Serendipity

Great!

So much going on! I couldn't put this down. This is my 2nd LS book and it wont be my last.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK

Louise Shaffer's book captivated me from page 1. It is an exceptionally well-written saga of the mysteries of three generations of mothers and daughters. The story starts following the death of a famous New York humanitarian. Her aimless daughter is left to seek the answers to the many unanswered questions about their secretive family. As the tale brilliantly moves back and forth in the lives of these multi-generational women, the family's complex history is slowly revealed. I absolutely loved this book, with its very charming characters. I could easily relate to their desire to find the right direction to guide their lives and their resulting place in the world. A wonderful, wonderful story for all!

Loved the Book- I had looked forward to reading another book by Louise Shaffer after reading "The Three Miss Margarets", "The Ladies of Garrison Gardens" & "Family Acts"

"Serendipity" was another great book by Louise Shaffer. She really is able to write books that keep you wanting to read them right straight through, without putting them down. I just loved "The Three Miss Margarets" which had been a gift and then I bought the "Ladies of Garrison Gardens" and looked forward to when "Family Acts" was published! I hope Louise continues to write. She has a way of intertwining characters and lives so you have to pay attention as you go along to keep them straight. I look forward to the next book and I will keep on buying them as long as she keeps writing them. I have suggested her books to many of my friends...Louise is able to show just how complex peoples lives can be and how many facets there can be to one individual! Her books are an enjoyable break from the hectic busy lives that many of us lead and I can't wait for the next one!

The Secrets of Her Success

Louise Shaffer obviously learned more than her lines, working on all those soap operas. She also learned the power of a great secret (or ten) to keep a reader hooked all the way till the very end. "Serendipity" reveals one secret after another until she's done. More than great shocks and plot-movers, those secrets also reveal something about the characters in the novel, giving us a deeper insight, and occasionally changing our whole perspective on who we think they are. These secrets elevate what could have been stereotypes (like the Broadway legend who places career before family) into flesh-and-blood characters, whom we love in spite of their faults. Without giving away any of the book's secrets, which should elicit at least a "Wow!" or two, let's just say that Shaffer learned how to save the best for last.

Fantastic

Coming from "Broadway Royalty" Carrie struggles to find herself and her place in the world after the death of her mother. Her angst stems from the fact that while she lived with her mother most of her life, she never really "knew" her, what motivated her. After her death, Carrie decides it's time to figure out what led her mother to be the woman she was and what caused her mother Rose and Grandmother Lu to stop speaking to one another. Moving between the present tense and the early years of Lu's life (and her relationship with her own mother), Carrie begins to understand the women in her family and what made them into who they became. This was an amazing story of mothers and daughters and how each generations relationships can affect the next. A story of a woman finally finding her place in the world, and finding the happiness she so richly deserves. This is a book that you don't want to miss ~ but make sure you keep the tissues close by. You're going to need them. A++++++

This is an interesting family drama

In New York, Rose Manning is a legendary philanthropist. How highly regarded is made quite clear to her daughter Carrie when Rose dies. A who's who of causes arrives at her funeral to praise Rose. Carrie cannot help but notice not one of the accolades mentions Rose the friend or for that matter her late husband (and Carrie's dad) brilliant Broadway composer Bobby Manning whose death changed the family dynamics; all the eulogies target Rose's philanthropic activity. Even in death, her mom has left Carrie bitter, unwanted, and feeling like a failure unable to reach the humanitarian bar set by her cold to her, but warm to strangers mom..

While cleaning out Rose's apartment, Carrie finds some strange secrets about her mom that she never shared with her. She would like to follow up with her maternal grandma but is somewhat estranged with the renowned stage actress Lu Lawson; the split occurred when she was a little girl and her daddy died. Instead she goes to New Haven to see Lu's older brother octogenarian great-Uncle Paulie. He tells her the truth about Rose, Lu and Lu's mom Mifalda; and how illegitimacy that seems to run through the generations. She follows that with a close friend of her parents and finally her maternal grandma.

This is an interesting family drama that looks at four generations of women with each having issues leaving estrangements between them. The story line is carried nicely by Carrie though at times she seems too naive for someone with her pedigree. Still fans will enjoy her sleuthing as she begins to go past the caricature of the happy altruist widow image to piece together the full puzzle of who her mom really was and what shaped her.

Harriet Klausner

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