Strange but True - Hardcover

Searles, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688175716 ISBN 13: 9780688175719

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 2004

Synopsis

Returning home to live with his mother, Charlene, a bitter woman still grieving over the death of her younger son, Ronnie, Philip Chase is stunned when Ronnie's former girlfriend arrives with the shocking news that she is pregnant with Ronnie's child--despite the fact that Ronnie died five years earlier. 75,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

"Exceptionally good." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Wonderfully entertaining." -- Esquire

"Energetic and witty...the plot rocks." -- New York Newsday

Exceptionally good. --Cleveland Plain Dealer

Wonderfully entertaining. --Esquire

"Exceptionally good."--Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Pitch-perfect...this novel plays out as vividly as a movie....Who wouldn't be sucked into this story?"--Hartford Courant

"This tale has a light, eccentric aspect....You'll race right through it."--New York Times

"Searles' portrayal of a family in collective emotional agony is spellbinding."--BookPage

"Wonderfully entertaining."--Esquire

From the Back Cover:

After a mysterious fall from his New York City apartment, Philip Chase has moved back home with his mother, Charlene, a bitter woman who has never fully accepted the death of her younger son, Ronnie, five years earlier. Numb from watching too much television, rereading a tragic biography, and trading snipes with his mother, Philip is in stasis.

But everything changes late one windy February night when Ronnie's high school girlfriend shows up on their doorstep. A sad young woman who still bears the scars of the accident that took Ronnie's life on the night of their prom, Melissa has unexpectedly found hope. She is nine months pregnant. And the father, she claims, is Ronnie.

So begins this startling tale, which moves from one breathless surprise to another as Philip and his mother confront not only Melissa's past but their own. Their desperate search for answers takes them on a poignant and emotional journey, ultimately placing them in the path of murder and revenge.

At once a moving story of redemption and a heart-stopping work of suspense, Strange but True confirms John Searles's place among the most gifted voices of his generation. Beautifully written and charged with a sublime wit, the novel brings to vibrant life a cast of characters that no reader will forget.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0688175716
• ISBN 13: 9780688175719
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 308