Book reviews are subjective. I tend to rate books not according to how “perfect” they are, seem to be, or are said to be in general but rather to how perfect they are to me.
Pemberton Manor: The Waiting Woman: A Serial Novel – Episode 04 by Becky Doughty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
(Click the title to find the book description/blurb.)
Stella has essentially been waiting in isolation for too long, as if she’s put her life on hold during her later years. But when she witnesses an incident outside of her apartment that, unfortunately, is all too familiar, a crime will lead to her chance to move forward again in Pemberton Manor: The Waiting Woman by author Becky Doughty.
Okay, so for a while there, I almost suspected that Stella might turn out to be a minor character in her own story, serving mostly as a supporting backdrop for the ongoing activity of other Pemberton people. Not that I’m not interested in the other Pemberton people, since I’m happily invested in all of these folks, but I was still pleased to see Stella’s story take a more definite place on center stage, after a bit.
This installment manages to be a little complex, a little more heartbreaking, and also redemptive and fun—not all at the same time, but at the right times. I could empathize with Stella on a couple of different levels, and a part of her past all but sent my stomach plummeting to the floor. *Gasp.* Ouch.
I had some trouble getting a handle on the episode’s flow in places, and a few of the scenes felt a tad long to me. (Ironic, I know, since it’s only about sixty pages of reading.) I also wasn’t that excited to see a returning character in a victim role, since that Pemberton person has already gotten a good amount of that in an earlier episode or two.
Nevertheless, after the inspiring “What are you waiting for?” message in this episode, I’m quite content to be a waiting woman, patiently awaiting the continuation of this serial novel. (That might be kind of ironic too, but, oh well.)
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If you’re new to the Manor, you’ll want to check out the first episode, The Goodbye Girl.
