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Audrey Colby seems to have it all: wealth, a handsome husband, an adorable little boy, a huge house, a busy social life and great looks. But, looks can be deceiving, as Audrey’s outward façade proves quite well. The real story of Audrey’s personal life is that it is her own private hell. Her husband Jonathan Colby is an abusive, possessive, self-centered monster. No matter what Audrey does to soothe the savage beast, he just grows worse, beating her for every imagined slight.
Audrey has no close friends, and stays to herself, concerned about inciting another round of beatings. Those who do know the awful truth of Audrey’s relationship with her husband have chosen to do nothing – and Audrey has failed in her attempts to run away from him.
However, she is growing desperate. She has realized that, unless she leaves, she just might not survive long enough to be the mother her young son needs. And, now that her son, Sammy, is nine, Jonathan is threatening to send him away to a boarding school. Time has grown short for Audrey to make her move, and though she’s been preparing for this moment for five long months, she still feels that she’s not quite ready.
Nicholas Wakefiled is a man with a haunted past he’s running from. He quit his last job because he was tired of trying to make a difference – his failures haunted him almost as much as the death of his younger sister. While working at his new job, he comes face to face with Audrey’s situation, and knows that he cannot sit by and do nothing.
Tension sizzles in A YEAR AND A DAY. Inglath Cooper has done a superb job of portraying the horrors that face an abused woman and the fine line that can be drawn between love and hate. The budding romance between Nicholas and Audrey provide a ray of hope for readers to follow as Audrey sets out to make a new life for herself. Just desserts are served to the two secondary characters, which provide quite a satisfying ending, leaving this reader wishing that real-life scenarios could only end so well. Kudos to Inglath Cooper for creating such a sensitive and suspenseful tale.
Reviewed by Janean Nusz
for The Road to Romance
February 20, 2006
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