Even Willows Weep: Pheonix
Cindy Lynch
My Three Sons Publishing
9780986447617, $14.99, PB, 308pp, www.amazon.com
Synopsis: Callista Lamply is a young professional art therapist working with children dealing with cancer. Enter Pheonix, an imp of a child, dealing with her terminal cancer the best she can. Strangely, Callie has had visions of Pheonix in her dreams and shock registers now, having Pheonix, in the flesh, here at her art table. Callie becomes emotionally attached to this young girl as she prepares herself for the inevitable.
This task of pushing facts aside so that she can continue to honor her professional duties becomes monumental with each tick of the clock. Maddie, Callie’s best friend and roommate, is a quirky little thing leaving nothing to the imagination. She has no filter which, oddly enough, Callie finds endearing. Maddie made the leap, leaving Connecticut to start fresh in Missouri and try as they might to run from their past, history seems to be repeating itself. Will this cause Maddie to resort to her coping mechanisms that nearly cost her her life years ago?
Meanwhile, Callie’s brother Jimmy believes that he is happily living with his wife in their quaint cabin on Lake Carmi. However, the veil of deception is lifted leaving Jimmy with pain and uncertainty. He forges ahead in his role of a lifetime, becoming a father, unaware that the Sandy Hook tragedy looms ahead.
When dreams of lost love, causes images, voices and emotions to bubble up from the recesses of her mind, Callie wonders if she has finally found what she truly wants in life. Each will decide their fate by allowing that little voice within to be heard. Just listen and believe.
Critique: Original, compelling, deftly crafted, “Even Willows Weep” is an inherently engaging and entertaining read from beginning to end and continues to document author Cindy Lynch as an impressively accomplished storyteller. While highly recommended for community library general fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that “Even Willows Weep: Phoenix” is also available in a Kindle format ($7.99). Also very highly recommended Cindy Lynch‘s novel “Bye For Now: Gramp’s Camp” (9780986447600, $14.99 PB, $7.99 Kindle, 296pp).
