there was an old woman by Hallie Ephron

Evie Ferrante is resigned when she gets the call from her sister about their mother.  She knows it is her turn to take care of her, Ginger, her older sister,  has been doing most of the care-taking of late, but the call couldn’t have come at a worse time with Evie’s big exhibition only months away.  Nevertheless, when Evie arrives at her childhood home she is shocked to see just how dilapidated it has become, inside and out.  As she tries to make the house somewhat habitable, Evie begins to find things that just don’t make sense, like the brand new flat-screen television on the wall,  all the empty expensive bottles of liquor in the garage and then there were the brown envelopes stuffed with cash…

Evie is unable to get any answers from her mother who is in and out of consciousness in the hospital.  While at home, Evie rekindles her friendship with her elderly next door neighbor Mina Yetner, who herself has been having memory lapses that she is unable to explain.  Before Mina’s nephew convinces her to go into a retirement community, Evie needs Mina’s help figuring out what is going on with her mother and the entire seaside community.

Hallie Ephron is the  Edgar award nominated author of “Never Tell a Lie”.  This is mostly a novel of suspense with a little mystery although it is fairly clear from the beginning that someone is up to no good.  Ephron uses standard ingredients-a series of events that become more and more sinister, strong characters and character relationships and a straightforward plot.  However, what really gets you reading and keeps you reading are Ephron’s strong relatable characters that are easy to identify with, so you want to finish the story, delay dinner, stay up late…This is a fun entertaining read.