All the Single Ladies: A Novel

Lisa St. Clair knows a thing or two about weathering storms. A dedicated nurse with a healthy sense of humor, she single-handedly raised her truculent daughter, Marianne, after her ex walked out on them twenty-four years ago, sending them a lottery ticket once a year as support. One day he reappeared and lured their daughter into a dubious but lucrative venture in Colorado. Now mother and daughter aren't speaking. So when Kathy Harper, Lisa's favorite patient, loses her battle with cancer, Lisa finds herself drawing closer to Carrie and Suzanne, the devoted friends who were always by Kathy's side. As these three women's lives inevitably connect, they share their concerns about men, getting older, and the horrors of maintaining financial stability. Suzanne's ninety-nine-year-old grandmother, a former chanteuse, offers unexpected perspectives on the mores of the day. Carrie's greedy ex-stepchildren are a chorus of cackling crows. And Lisa's mother just can't help herself as she henpecks her to distraction. Somehow their conversations always return to the enigma of Kathy. Who was she? What did her short life mean? Lisa, Carrie, and Suzanne power walk the beaches of the Isle of Palms with Pickle, Lisa's adorable Westie. Gradually they uncover the truth of Kathy's life and unfurl plans to secure their own futures, as fate steps in to help them discover that being single doesn't have to mean being alone.