The Glass Lake Binchy, Maeve

Amazon.com Review In the tradition of her beloved novel Circle of Friends, Irish novelist Maeve Binchey offers a wonderful old-fashioned melodrama with a contemporary cast of compelling characters. A sly, seductive, and compulsively readable book, perfect for rainy afternoons and late nights in bed. Product Description Night after night the beautiful woman walked beside the serene waters of Lough Glass. Until the day she disappeared, leaving only a boat drifting upside down on the unfathomable lake that gave the town its name. Ravishing Helen McMahon, the Dubliner with film-star looks and unfulfilled dreams, never belonged in Lough Glass, not the way her genial pharmacist-husband Martin belonged, or their spirited daughter Kit. Suddenly, she is gone and Kit is haunted by the memory of her mother, seen through a window, alone at the kitchen table, tears streaming down her face. Now Kit, too, has secrets: of the night she discovered a letter on Martin’s pillow and burned it, unopened. The night her mother was lost. The night everything changed forever… From Publishers Weekly Irish novelist Binchy's latest saga of family loyalties and secrets spent 12 weeks on PW's bestseller list. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review "A grand storyteller in the finest Irish tradition....She writes from the heart"—The Plain Dealer, Cleveland From the Publisher Kit MacMahon, growing up in the lakeside village of Loughshee, seems to lead a charmed life. She is the loved daughter of Martin MacMahon, the kindly local pharmacist, and Helen, his beautiful wife. She has a little brother, Emmett; a best friend, Clio, and a host of other friends. But Kit worries about her mother. Helen MacMahon does not fit in with the people and the ways of Loughshee. She wanders alone by the lake night after night -- until the dark windy night when she disappears and only her overturned rowboat is found near Loughshee's shore. Kit grows up in the small village without the mother she has loved and so staunchly defended, determined to carry out her mother's last wishes that she should make something of her life. Though she moves to the city, Kit is constantly drawn back to Loughshee and the people who live there -- Clio Kelly and their love/hate relationship; Clio's father Dr. Kelly, whose sister-in-law Maura has her eyes on Kit's father; Philip O'Brien, who has loved Kit since childhood; and roguish Stevie Sullivan, who runs the garage and rules the affections of every woman for miles around. The Glass Lake tells the story of how Kit MacMahon carries out her mother's last wishes; a story of how faith and courage can be rewarded. It is Maeve Binchy at her spellbinding best, creating a novel of such warmth and humor that the reader will never want it to end. From the Inside Flap Kit MacMahon, growing up in the lakeside village of Loughshee, seems to lead a charmed life. She is the loved daughter of Martin MacMahon, the kindly local pharmacist, and Helen, his beautiful wife. She has a little brother, Emmett; a best friend, Clio, and a host of other friends. But Kit worries about her mother. Helen MacMahon does not fit in with the people and the ways of Loughshee. She wanders alone by the lake night after night -- until the dark windy night when she disappears and only her overturned rowboat is found near Loughshee's shore. Kit grows up in the small village without the mother she has loved and so staunchly defended, determined to carry out her mother's last wishes that she should make something of her life. Though she moves to the city, Kit is constantly drawn back to Loughshee and the people who live there -- Clio Kelly and their love/hate relationship; Clio's father Dr. Kelly, whose sister-in-law Maura has her eyes on Kit's father; Philip O'Brien, who has loved Kit since childhood; and roguish Stevie Sullivan, who runs the garage and rules the affections of every woman for miles around. The Glass Lake tells the story of how Kit MacMahon