All Good Things

Ralph the dog is back, bringing with him the entire beautiful cast of characters from Leigh Somerville’s inaugural novel It All Started With a Dog. Back is Dupont Circle neighbor Susan, downstairs tenants Belle and Mary, super efficient legal assistant Georgia, George the aesthetic veteran, and a host of other memorable well-drawn individuals. Yet once again this wonderful continuation, All Good Things, is the story of young Ben Turner, his grandfather John and the love they feel for marvelous Rachel Springer. At 62, engaged to the man of her dreams, Rachel suddenly finds the idea of marriage to be absurd-until she makes the chance discovery of a secret bequest left to her by her grandmother.

Leigh’s books are somewhat reminiscent of Jan Karon’s Mitford series in that we are given a marvelous set of characters we come to know and care about in short order. Where Leigh is surpassingly excellent, I think, is in the well drawn themes she lures us readers into considering: the resilience of true love, second chances, changing culture and its burdens, and the price of commitment. As a huge fan of her work, I just had to find out if Rachel really made it to the altar. -Laz Barnhill, author of Lacey Took a Holiday and The Medicine People

If you’re looking for a ripping good story about characters you can take to heart, All Good Things is it. At the core is Rachel, embracing a new life at age 62 - marrying for the first time, opening her arms wide enough to take on a whole community of friends, complete with joys and tribulations, including hers. It’s a fine tale well told, and that’s about the best thing you can say about a book. - Robert Inman, author of Home Fires Burning and Dairy Queen Days.