The Last Bridge
I'm Kim Alexander and this is Fiction Nation, smart reviews for modern readers on Sirius XM Book Radio. The book is The Last Bridge by Teri Coyne.
Here's how it begins — with a note:
February 23rd
Cat,
He isn't who you think he is
Mom xxxooo.
Cat is the long lost daughter, Mom has just killed herself (xxxooo) and 'he' could be almost anyone.
Teri is one of those writers I feel quite privileged to talk about. In many ways, she's exactly the writer I had in mind when I created this show. The Last Bridge is her first book, and as we know, you need to be a big name these days to get much attention from the publicity department. It's also an extremely intense story of a damaged woman — someone frankly not very likeable, at least as the story begins. It's about the cycle of abuse and the generations of lies in a small town. There are no angels or demons except those who can appear in any family. There are no debutantes or celebrities or glamorously troubled teens. There is only Alexandra — Cat — and her best friend, lover and confidant, her bottle of bourbon. Why would you want to read about this woman? Because her story, told in increasingly harrowing flashbacks, is unforgettable. I can tell you that she's brave, a talented artist, smart, that she deserves better, she deserves to be more, but that's just me saying it. Watching Cat solve the mystery of who 'he' is, and of course who she herself is, is worth the painful journey through this book. It may take a village to raise a child, but in this case it takes a whole town to act like destroying one is no big deal.
Hear my interview with Teri Coyne on Fiction Nation, on Book Radio, Sirius 117 and XM 163.
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