Eager to Please by Julie Parsons
(Published by Town House)
Rachel Beckett has spent the last twelve years in prison convicted of her husband's murder, which she swears she did not commit. Upon her release she discovers that after years spent in foster care, her 17-year-old daughter Amy does not want to know her; her own mother has died and her father is in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer's and mortified by the shame of her conviction.
Rachel spent her time on the inside haunted by the fact that her husband's killer, her former lover, is still free. With only revenge on her mind she enters society again, determined to make the murderer pay. But the outside world has changed, twelve years of prison routine have made basic everyday activities terrifying - how to cross the road, how to eat in public, what clothes to wear... Rachel's friends have all disappeared and her family no longer acknowledges her.
A riveting read, Julie Parsons portrays the difficulties of Rachel's reintegration into society and her transformation from a gentle upper class educated woman to a hardened criminal with uncanny insight. Without detracting from the main storyline Parson's introduces various well-crafted sub-plots that will keep you gripped from beginning to end. A great addition to any bookshelf.
