A story of nice, nice people
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Night of Miracles is the second of three books in Elizabeth Berg’s Mason, Missouri series. The first book was The Story of Arthur Truluv, and the third book is The Confession Club.
I absolutely loved The Story of Arthur Truluv. In it, Berg takes an odd assortment of people and turns them into a family. Thus, there was a lonely widower named Arthur Moses, an old spinster who lived across the street named Lucille, and a troubled teenager named Maddy Harris, all of whom came together in the story to show each other — and the reader — what Truluv is all about.
I had just finished reading a book called The Silent Patient, that had NO likeable characters, so it was a delight to pick up Night of Miracles because as is often the case with an Elizabeth Berg book, it was chockful of nice, nice people.
Happily, we are reunited with Maddy and Lucille. And then we meet:
- Abby and Jason Summers and their 10-year old son, Lincoln, who live next door
- Iris Winters, a newly divorced woman who just moved to Mason, Missouri, and who gets a job working for Lucille
- Tiny Dawson, a non-tiny man who is Iris’ helpful neighbor
- And Monica Mayhew, a waitress at Polly’s Henhouse, the place where Tiny packs on his pounds
All of these characters are charming people with compelling stories, and it is fun to read about them. However, as much as their stories overlap and coincide, they never coalesce to the level Elizabeth Berg reached in The Story of Arthur Truluv.
*****
Note: Read my reviews of the other two books in the series: Mason #1 is called The Story of Arthur Truluv. Mason #3 is called The Confession Club.
[…] them in this order (from best to worst): The Story of Arthur Truluv, The Confession Club, and then Night of Miracles. Actually, I’m rooting for a fourth book. Why? Berg still has not fleshed out a major character, […]