Along Came Mary - by Jo-Ann Mapson (Paperback)

About the Book

Written with the same "feisty characters and rueful emotional wisdom" ("Kirkus Reviews") that have brought Mapson such a devoted following, "Along Came Mary" explores the importance of reconciling with one's past, and illuminates the meaning of community, family, and friendship.

Book Synopsis

USA Today called Jo-Ann Mapson's national bestseller Bad Girl Creek "a valentine to oceans of good women who survive bad beginnings and worse men." Now the author, hailed as "one of the most gifted writers of the contemporary urban West" (Los Angeles Times), brings back the hard-luck women of her acclaimed previous novel -- and introduces another indelible character into their midst.
After finally wising up to her drunken rodeo crooner lover, Mary Madigan saddles up her twin border collies and takes her act on the road, leaving miles of heartache and highway behind. When she meets Rick, a charming and persistent journalist haunted by his own ghosts, she suddenly has a travel companion and a new lover (with an all-too-familiar set of tricks).
Their travels ultimately bring them to Bad Girl Creek, where the waters have already been troubled. Phoebe's pregnancy is life-threatening, Nance's break-up diet has turned dangerously successful, Beryl is still struggling to adjust to life after prison, and HIV-positive Ness is distancing herself from the "healthy" world -- if you can call it that.
But these are the Bad Girl Creek ladies: they are resilient. The ways they pull together, cheer each other on through good times and bad, and cope with every curve life throws at them make up the heart and soul of this powerful and big-hearted novel.

Review Quotes

Kirkus Reviews The feisty characters and rueful emotional wisdom of this sequel will win over all but the hardest-hearted reader.

People Readers will cheer the way the characters fight for each other, refuse to tolerate self-destructive behavior and set a standard for friendship.

Kristin Hannah author of Distant Shores and On Mystic Lake Along Came Mary is a wonderful novel, filled with women so real and honest you feel you've known them all of your life....[A]nother sparkling gem from Jo-Ann Mapson. Bittersweet, poignant, and ultimately triumphant.

About the Author

Jo-Ann Mapson is the author of eight novels. She teaches fiction in the MFA program at the University of Alaska, and lives with her husband and four dogs in Anchorage, Alaska, where she is at work on a new novel. Visit her at www.joannmapson.com.