Patti Callahan Henry

By the acclaimed author of The Idea of Love Southern women unravel the mysteries of summers past in a small coastal town draped in secrets as thick as the marshes that surround it ...

The Bookshop at Water's End

Sarah Sammis

It's becoming a chore to read and I'm always skeptical of books that feel the need to include questions for discussion.

Melissa Palmer

Book #77 Read in 2017
The Bookshop at Water's End by Patti Callahan Henry

Usually, I love any book set in a bookshop and this book was no exception. Bonny and Lainey return to their summer childhood town and bring some of their families with them. Both women have issues that they are trying to solve but their friendship will help them get through those issues. Their small town is full of interesting people and lends a nice touch to the book. I borrowed this book from the public library.

Cindy

How I love this time of year when a beach read seems inevitable and going to the beach actually is a reality. The thing that I loved most about this book was Mimi's bookshop, it seemed like such a nice peaceful old fashioned type of bookstore, the kind that we really do not see often anymore. Then there was the mystery of what happened to Lainey's mother all those years ago when she disappeared, where did she go? Did she drown? This is entangled up in Lainey's everyday life as she tries to find out what happened to her. Then there is Bonnie, the ER doctor who may or may not have caused a mans death. I was so rooting for a great outcome for Bonnie and someone nice to come into her life , Bonnie was in need of a good romance and needed to be rid of her jerk of a husband. Bonnie's husband was the character that I disliked the most. What a mean bully! Piper , Bonnie's daughter seemed so lost with really no direction for her future, I kept rooting for her to clean up her act and to her credit she does try and do the right thing. Everything does eventually come to a head and my questions are answered. Along the way, as the pages turned  to this books conclusion, I truly enjoyed the story. It was a nice book, I felt like I was along for the ride bumpy and smooth.This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge

Renee Blankenship

I received Patti Callahan Henry's The Bookshop at Water's End through a Goodreads giveaway and wasn't sure what to expect! I just knew that any book that takes place in and around a bookshop is bound to be worth reading, right?

Pleasantly surprised as this story unfolded, I quickly became immersed in the world of two friends who lost something their third summer vacationing together but remained friends throughout their lives. As both are at the risk of losing again, they meet again at the beach house in South Carolina hoping it will heal their hearts from the past and from their troubled present.

Bonny and Lainey, friends since those fateful summers on vacation with their families, struck me as such a realistic portrayal of what adult friendship can be. Despite time, distance and obligations they were there for each other when it was needed most.

I enjoyed the alternating chapters in each woman's voice, along with that of Bonny's daughter, as the summer in South Carolina unfolded. I also appreciated the flashbacks to the summers of their childhood which helped fill in what had transpired while they were children. And lets be honest, Mimi the bookshop owner was one of my favorite characters!!

I highly recommend this book if you like stories that center around friendship and connection, love and mystery. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book and am excited to get to know Patti Callahan Henry's writing a bit more. She has published quite a few books!

The Bookshop at Water's End

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