Review:
Over the objections of her spiteful daughter-in-law and despite her own sentimental misgivings, the sharp-witted, tweed-wearing widow Maudie Todhunter is selling the remote Cornish farmhouse left to her by her husband, Patrick. In A Week in Winter, her first book to be published in the U.S., British author Marcia Willett explores the competing claims of love, memory, and duty. Maudie knows that her beloved granddaughter Posy would have liked to inherit Moorgate. But she is surprised to learn who else wants the old house and what secrets unfold as she puts Moorgate on the market. What makes A Week in Winter a "women's" novel (and may narrow its appeal) is its slow development--nothing is rushed here--and a tendency to linger in the moment, savoring emotional nuances and fine points of plot and character. At best, this makes the novel a smooth and leisurely read, but it can also bring the action to a crawl. To compensate, Willett provides some mysterious clues that lend a Gothic aura to an otherwise straightforward tale of giving up a much-prized object in the hope that something better will arrive. --Regina Marler
From the Back Cover:
"A Week in Winter may be set in the winter, but it's the perfect addition to your summer beach tote." -- Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
Sitting on the edge of the moor in Cornwall lies a spectacular old farmhouse called Moorgate. Now, after a year of widowhood, Maudie Todhunter has decided to sell the beautiful summer residence, setting off a chain of events that bring long-buried secrets to light.
"Like Rosamunde Pilcher and Maeve Binchy, Willett creates such fully dimensional characters that readers feel as if they should phone or e-mail them to keep in touch." -- Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Selina, Maudie's stepdaughter, immediately makes plans to acquire the property, but Rob Abbot, the contractor who has lovingly restored the stone house and developed a passion for it, wants it too. And so does Melissa Clayton, a young woman with something to hide, who discovers all she ever wanted at Moorgate. Now one week in winter will make all the difference as an old betrayal surfaces, an unexpected love affair blossoms, and lives are forever changed...
"A genuine voice of our times." -- The Times (U.K.)
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