The Hurricane Sisters - Large Print by Dorothea Benton Frank (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Hurricane season begins early and rumbles all summer long, well into September. Often people's lives reflect the weather and The Hurricane Sisters is just such a story.

Once again New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank takes us deep into the heart of her magical South Carolina Lowcountry on a tumultuous journey filled with longings, disappointments, and, finally, a road toward happiness that is hard earned. There we meet three generations of women buried in secrets. The determined matriarch, Maisie Pringle, at eighty, is a force to be reckoned with because she will have the final word on everything, especially when she's dead wrong. Her daughter, Liz, is caught up in the classic maelstrom of being middle-age and in an emotionally demanding career that will eventually open all their eyes to a terrible truth. And Liz's beautiful twenty-something daughter, Ashley, whose dreamy ambitions of her unlikely future keeps them all at odds.

Luckily for Ashley, her wonderful older brother, Ivy, is her fierce champion but he can only do so much from San Francisco where he resides with his partner. And Mary Beth, her dearest friend, tries to have her back but even she can't talk headstrong Ashley out of a relationship with an ambitious politician who seems slightly too old for her.

Actually, Ashley and Mary Beth have yet to launch themselves into solvency. Their prospects seem bleak. So while they wait for the world to discover them and deliver them from a ramen-based existence, they placate themselves with a hare-brained scheme to make money but one that threatens to land them in huge trouble with the authorities.

So where is Clayton, Liz's husband? He seems more distracted than usual. Ashley desperately needs her father's love and attention but what kind of a parent can he be to Ashley with one foot in Manhattan and the other one planted in indiscretion? And Liz, who's an expert in the field of troubled domestic life, refuses to acknowledge Ashley's precarious situation. Who's in charge of this family? The wake-up call is about to arrive.

The Lowcountry has endured its share of war and bloodshed like the rest of the South, but this storm season we watch Maisie, Liz, Ashley, and Mary Beth deal with challenges that demand they face the truth about themselves. After a terrible confrontation they are forced to rise to forgiveness, but can they establish a new order for the future of them all?

Frank, with her hallmark scintillating wit and crisp insight, captures how a complex family of disparate characters and their close friends can overcome anything through the power of love and reconciliation. This is the often hilarious, sometimes sobering, but always entertaining story of how these unforgettable women became The Hurricane Sisters.

From the Back Cover

Hurricane season begins early and rumbles all summer long, well into September. Often people's lives reflect the weather and The Hurricane Sisters is just such a story.

The matriarch, Maisie Pringle, is a force to be reckoned with. Her daughter, Liz, is caught up in the classic maelstrom of middle age. And Liz's beautiful twenty-something daughter, Ashley, and her dreamy ambitions for the future keep them all at odds.

Ashley's brother, Ivy, is her fierce champion but he can't do much from San Francisco where he resides with his partner. And even Mary Beth, her dearest friend, can't talk headstrong Ashley out of a relationship with an ambitious politician.

While Ashley and Mary Beth wait for the world to deliver them from a ramen-based existence, they come up with a harebrained scheme to make money that could land them in huge trouble.

With her scintillating wit and crisp insight, Frank captures how a complex family of disparate characters and their close friends can overcome anything through the power of love and reconciliation.

Review Quotes

"Frank keeps you reading compulsively." - Charlotte Observer on Bulls Island
"Dottie Frank's books have the fizz of a gin and tonic, the hilarity of a night out at a comedy club and the warmth of a South Carolina sun. Dip in, dive in, but no matter how you go, you'll love her. The Last Original Wife is a keeper." - Adriana Trigiani, NYT bestselling author of Big Stone Gap and The Shoemaker's Wife on The Last Original Wife
"A true southern comfort." - Booklist on Bulls Island
[T]he queen of sassy Southern fiction. - Charlotte Observer on Lowcountry Summer
"Something about her novels just seems to say summer." - USA Today on Porch Lights
"Hidden beneath Frank's trademark buoyant and breezy Low Country patois is a passionate exposé of South Carolina's alarming problem with domestic abuse." - Booklist
Tight storytelling, winsomely oddball characters, and touches of Southern magic make this a winner. - Publishers Weekly on Lowcountry Summer
It's all about one sassy steel magnolia, a woman with a wit as keen as her libido....a delightful summer read - Denver Post on Lowcountry Summer
"The prolific Frank provides another sweet summer read set in her beloved South Carolina Low Country.... Head to the beach, apply sunblock, read, and enjoy!" - Booklist on Porch Lights
"Frank specializes in resilient characters who survive thanks to a saucy combination of grit and humor." - Booklist on Folly Beach
"Dorothea Benton Frank adds to her ever-growing collection of bestsellers with this moving yet humorous novel about life's trials and tribulations, and the way the path to true love never runs smoothly, whether it involves romance or family relationships." - Bookreporter.com
"Dorothea Benton Frank tells it like it is. She brings out the complexity in every character. Though they face disillusionment and heartache, they also display an optimistic and humorous side, making them more human." - New York Journal of Books