Silver Alert

Author: Lee Smith
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2024
Pages: 240
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Herb's charmed life with his dear wife, Susan, in their Key West house is coming undone. Susan, in her seventies, now needs constant care, and Herb is in denial about his own ailing health. The one bright spot is the arrival of an endlessly optimistic manicurist calling herself Renee, who brings Susan a much-needed sense of contentment.

Then Herb and Susan's adult children arrive to stage an intervention with their stubborn, independent father, and as a consequence, Renee's gig with Susan - and her grand plans for her own life - start to unravel as well. Herb isn't ready to let go of all that he has ever had, and it turns out that Renee is not the happy, uncomplicated girl she pretends to be. She is not even Renee; she is really Dee Dee, and she, too, has reasons of her own to hit the road. So when Herb suggests one last joy ride in his Porsche with Dee Dee riding shotgun, they light out for parts north, setting off a Silver Alert.  

Review: While this book deals with some heavy topics, I still found it charming a fun read. I listened to the audio version and the narrator brought the characters to life. I can honestly say that I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the print version better.