Destination Funeral: four friends reunite for a funeral in a story of grief, healing and forgiveness

Destination Funeral by Paige Harbison is a story of grief, healing and forgiveness. The complicated and yet magnetic matriarch, Babe dies, four estranged friends gather together at her Mercy Island estate for the reading of her will. Didion, Babe’s oldest daughter, arrives to find Sammie, her youngest sister, and Matt, her ex best friend already there. Soon, Austin, the final attendee and her ex boyfriend arrives. The atmosphere is filled with the tensions and awkwardness that Didion expected. They were expected to stay the weekend and Didion braces herself for an ugly weekend. However, they find themselves experiencing Saturday over and over and over again. Trapped in a time loop with seemingly no end and no instructions how to stop it, the four adults are forced to confront their past of betrayals, breakups, and buried truths. How can one endless weekend be exactly what they need to save their futures? 

Destination Funeral is described as a “laugh-out-loud funny and equally heartbreaking novel” with The Big Chill (1983) and Groundhog Day (1993) vibes. However, I struggled with this story. I did not laugh out loud once and I didn’t find it heartbreaking at all. I disliked the characters, especially Babe. She is supposed to be a complex woman but is really a miserable woman who favors her youngest child and was in and out of her daughters’ lives as it suited her. The parentification of teenage Didion hit hard and gives her a bit of sympathy for her hardness and cold demeanor. Overall, I did not enjoy this story. I read Ms. Harbison's previous book and I did not enjoy it either. Her writing style is just not for me. However, if you enjoy Ms. Harbison's previous books, you may enjoy Destination Funeral. Unfortunately, I do not recommend Destination Funeral. 

Destination Funeral is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

The River at Night: a vacation turned nightmare

The River at Night by Erica Ferenick is a suspenseful drama of four friends whose vacation takes an unexpected turn and they must fight to survive. The story opens with Winifred is trying to get out of the once a year trip that her friend, Pia, is planning. River rafting doesn’t seem like her thing but after a sad encounter with an older man, she decides to take the chance. Along with their other friends, Rachel and Sandra, Winifred takes the trip to Maine where they met up with their guide, a young man named Rory. Their trip starts out well but soon takes a tragic turn and the four friends are left alone in the wilderness. As they try to reach the local town, they realize they are not alone. Soon they have to run for their lives. Will they reach safety? Will they back it back alive?

The River at Night is an interesting story which is slow to start as the real action doesn’t happen until about half way through. Each woman is on the trip for different reason; unfortunately, I could find any of them relatable or real. I felt Winnie would never go on the trip, let alone take charge like she does. The story reminds of a cross between Deliverance and the film The River Wild (1994). The book wasn’t my taste; however, I will recommend it to readers who enjoy this type of action fiction.

The River at Night

will be available January 10, 2017

on Amazon and Barnes and Noble

in hardcover and eBook