Flaherty’s Crossing

Kate Flaherty doesn’t want to visit her estranged father on his deathbed. She has enough problems in her marriage right now not to want to add him back into her life. But as a dutiful daughter, she returns to him, bring with her the memories of her mother, killed in a car accident years before. The memories she has of her father are dispelled by the reality of his cancer-wasted body and the morphine-induced delirium. As she comes to terms with his pending demise, he lets slip a devastating confession about her mother’s death, driving Kate into the night, and has her own accident. Seeking refuge in a late-night diner leads to her own confessional conversation with the employee closing for the night.

Flaherty’s Crossing goes beyond Kate’s coming to terms with her father and her memories of him, and the obvious couple with relationship problems finding that they still love each other after all. McFarren not only realistically presents Kate’s emotional roller-coaster, but also gets into Kate’s husband’s head, presenting male emotions within a troubled relationship. A well-written book, dealing with difficult issues of love, loss, healing, and faith, and never slipping into maudlin territory. A great debut novel. Currently available as an ebook download in April 2010.