Charlie (Boston) Cutler
Sunrise: August 18, 1944
Sunset: May 30, 2019
TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JULY 2019 13
BOOK
REVIEW
By Nell Klein
THE MOTHER-IN-LAW
By Sally Hepworth
I have been truly blessed in my life to have not one, but two mothers-inlaw.
But, unlike Diana Goodwin, the mother-in-law in this book, mine have
been kind, caring, supportive and fun to be with. But, of course, there are
always two sides to every story, so I’ll let you be the judge in Diana’s case.
The story begins with Lucy and Ollie Goodwin finding out that Ollie’s
mother, Diana, has been found dead in her home of apparent suicide. Diana
had recently informed her two children and their spouses that she was
dying of cancer. A bottle of poison was found next to her body and a suicide
note was found in a drawer in her desk. She couldn’t take it anymore, or
so it seems. But what the autopsy reveals is quite a different story. Turns
out there is no sign of cancer in her body and there are only traces of
the poison in her mouth, but none in her system. Also, there are pieces
of thread from a decorative pillow under her fingernails and the pillow is
missing. And, last but not least, why did she put the suicide note in her desk
drawer where it would be hard to find? To the police, it looks like she must
have rubbed someone the wrong way. But who?
The whole book alternates between two points of view. First is Lucy, who
is happily in love with Ollie (Diana’s son) and wants desperately to have a
mother figure in her life, as she lost her own at a young age. But, from the
beginning, no matter how hard she tried, Lucy felt that she was not what
Diana envisioned for her perfect son. Diana is cold, uncaring and Lucy can
do nothing right.
On the other hand, Diana, who is an advocate for female refugees, is
a wonderful grandmother to Lucy and Ollie’s three children. She also has
a daughter, Nettie, who is desperately trying to have children of her own
with her husband Patrick. All of the tests and treatments to help her get
pregnant are very expensive and Nettie needs help. They all seem to want
something from Diana that she is not willing to give. Where she gets her
unwillingness to help her children must come from her own secrets that
she has been carrying around for years.
The story also alternates between past and present so that we learn the
backgrounds of all the different characters. As the events unfold, we learn
that everyone in this family is hiding something, but who would want to kill
Diana? It seems that everyone in the book has a motive but who had the
opportunity?
I give this book five roses. It had everything: love, hate, deceit, mystery
and lots of secrets. I was still guessing right up to the last pages. It’s one
of those books that you think you have it figured out about ten times before
you finally find out you were wrong ten times. I thoroughly enjoyed it and
I’m sure you will too. I see that the author, Sally Hepworth, has two other
books that all have gotten rave reviews. I think I might try them out and
hope that they are as good as this one.
So, until next time, have a great summer and read a book. If it’s a good
read, pass it on!
By Shawna Austrino
Let me start by saying Charlie was very special to me. He was my true great
friend. I am sad, but honored, to share what I know about this really good man.
He was a Vietnam veteran, brother, father, and grandfather.
He was a good friend to so many people he touched along his journey.
Charlie came from the north (Massachusetts), as so many of us do. He brought
his ability to work hard and play hard.
Charlie enjoyed the view and playing pool from Benny’s daily.
I met him while working at The Wind Rose, another one of his favorite hangouts
with his best friend, Tracy (who soon became his lifelong roommate; she knows
all the really good stuff by the way), where we ate lunch, did shots and jammed
with Ragman!!
He lived his best life on Tybee and we will all miss him. Thank you for all the
great memories my friend, and this Bud’s for you.