Unlike Patterson's Alex Cross thrillers, this sentimental tale does not translate well to audio. The plot twists seem all the more absurd when read aloud, and the audiobook's maudlin music, inserted during the story's poignant moments, is as distracting and disturbing as a TV laugh track. Jennifer, a newspaper columnist who's grieving the death of her husband, has more reason to mourn when her beloved grandmother, Sam, falls into a coma. Jennifer rushes to Sam's home in Lake Geneva, Wis., where she finds a packet of letters addressed to her. The letters detail her grandmother's life story, including an affair she had with a mysterious man. Jennifer takes comfort in the letters, and at the same time, embarks on her own romance with Brendan, an old friend. Heche's thin, mousy voice is perfect for the perpetually worried Jennifer, but she rarely varies her intonation, not even for Brendan's dialogue. Alexander does a better job as Sam, conveying the elderly woman's concern for Jennifer, but her performance isn't sufficient to elevate this flawed audiobook. Simultaneous release with the Little, Brown hardcover (Forecasts, June 7). (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Jennifer, a workaholic journalist from Chicago, receives a call from Lake Geneva, WI, with news that her beloved grandmother Samantha is in a coma. Jennifer rushes to be with her, but finds that waiting is all she can do. In her room at her grandmother's house, Jennifer finds a stack of letters addressed to her that reveal the story of Sam's life, with some surprises. Down at the lakeshore, Jennifer falls in love with a childhood friend, now a doctor, who has secrets of his own. The inevitable crisis strikes, but with the help of her loved ones, Jennifer struggles through. Patterson's use of a series of letters to convey his story is not new, and his rationale is fairly flimsy. However, it helps to facilitate the development of the parallel love stories. Well read by Anne Heche and Jane Alexander; recommended for large listening collections.-Joanna M. Burkhardt, Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Providence Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Patterson, a former ad man turned megaselling author (The Lake House, 2003, etc.), makes a calculated and obvious appeal to the widest possible reader demographic. Hugs and kisses, love everlasting, happy tears, and advice from the hereafter-well, at least it's not another trite book about a dead spouse who likes to talk. It's a grandmother whose swift and tidy demise begins this epistolary mushfest. But Sam's granddaughter Jennifer is a young widow who uses words like "awesome," "totally," and "very cool" a lot. Anyway, Jennifer is numb with shock when Sam breathes her last. What will she do? Where will she go? Why, to Sam's lakefront cottage, where she finds a cache of letters, conveniently bundled and sorted. Jennifer begins to read them. But she misses Sam so, so much, Jennifer just wants to cry and cry-and she does. Why, it was Sam who gently coaxed her out of her shell and removed her veil of sadness. But there was so much she didn't know about her beloved grandmother. Can it be true that Sam didn't love Grandpa Charles after 26 tedious years of marriage, child-rearing, and household drudgery? Sniff, sniff. Life is so sad. Funny and sad. There are so many letters. This one is about Doc, the man who taught Sam to laugh again and gave her a second chance at love when she was in her 40s and her spirit was drying up like a bug in a web in a corner of a dusty room. How sad and funny is that? Jennifer thinks it would be awesome if she could learn to love again too. Then she meets Brendan, who is so, so cute and nice. Brendan does a very cool thing: he performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Euphoria, her stricken cat. Wow! Will Euphoria live? Will Jennifer still want to kiss Brendan ifhe tastes like a hairball?Love, like, totally conquers all. Author tour. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh/William Morris

Anne Heche drives the emotion of this book, deftly delivering a roller coaster ride of plot twists and turns. Two romances wind through the chapters, each as important as the other, and though they bounce back and forth, the shifts are smooth and seamlessly presented. After Jennifer reads the nearly 100 letters from Sam, she observes, “How many of us know the true stories of our parents and grandparents? What are we but our stories?” Anne Heche is delightfully whimsical overall, but when her voice falters with emotion, listeners will grab for their tissues. K.A.T. 2005 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine