Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope are rookie NYPD officers who buy neighboring houses in a quiet New York suburb. Their lives become permanently linked when an act of violence, fueled by Anne Stanhope’s deteriorating mental health, shatters both families. The aftermath forces the separation of the officers’ children, Kate and Peter, whose adolescent friendship is cut short by the tragedy. Decades later, the narrative tracks their adulthood as they confront the inherited scars of addiction, forgiveness, and the persistent weight of their parents’ shared trauma.
Readers of multi-generational family sagas find value here because the story bypasses sentimentality to examine how people live with the consequences of long-term psychological illness. Those interested in the specific culture of law enforcement families will recognize the internal pressures described. The reader walks away with a sober perspective on how adult children reconcile with flawed parents and the effort required to break cycles of dysfunction without severing ties to the past entirely.
Inward-looking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2019
- Language
- EN
