The Stories We Tell

For my first book of 2025, I chose to write about The Stories We Tell by Patti Callahan Henry. Judging by its description and some of its reviews, it sounds like a book that has a soap opera feel to it. However, I'm hoping it will have more substance than a typical daytime drama. Also, coming from this author, I have high expectation for its writing style and story content.

When Eve learns about the car accident that her husband and sister are in, she thinks something is terribly wrong. Neither one is where they said they would be. Why is that? Cooper, Eve’s husband, offers an explanation for this, but I wonder if it’s entirely true.

Before the accident, Cooper and Eve Morrison are one of Savannah's power couples. Yet, is their marriage as happy as it appears? Eve’s sister, Willa, has been living in a cottage on their property at the time of the crash while she gets her life in order.

Questions about the circumstances of the accident persist for Eve. Cooper's account of what happened that night isn't ringing true, and Willa has lost any memories of the event due to injuries sustained from it. An intriguing mystery emerges about what actually occurred. Eve needs to know the truth – about the accident and other things. In the process of discovery, she has to confront some difficult realities about her life.

This is a story about an old, wealthy Southern family that has its share of conflict, problems and secrets that are exposed as a result of the accident.

I’m not at all disappointed in the words that are used or the way they are used to tell this narrative. It’s hard to find books that are this well written. Yes, some of it is like a Hallmark movie, but the suspiciousness surrounding the true cause of the crash kept me absorbed until the very end.

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