Shore Lodge: A high-stakes psychological thriller by Susan Specht Oram
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have read by Susan Specht Oram; the plot drew me in as I am a big fan of psychological thrillers on tv and movies but finally getting into them in books. The beginning, that is the title of the first chapter, it sets the plot for the entire book. Jacklyn and Albert were high school sweethearts the only thing they loved more than their family was gardening. Suddenly a heart attack takes Albert from her, after having a mental breakdown, her son takes it upon himself to “deal” with her. This book is from three perspectives, Jacklyn newly widowed, her daughter Rose and her son Dusty.
Living two hours away Rose isn’t around every day to see how out of it her mother has become. Dusty on the other hand has been there every day but dislikes the thought of having to move in with his mother or the burden of handling and relying on someone to come to the house to take care of her. Severely depressed after losing her husband Jacklyn is going through the motions, clinging to her shop schedule. Looking into everything after his passing she has discovered that he has given sixty-two thousand dollars to their son in recent years to help him get ahead on his dream but now she has no savings and must keep the shop to earn back what was given away. Meanwhile Carolyn, a valued employee that has worked for them for years is interested in buying the shop, but Jacklyn can’t just tell her she can’t afford to sale that she has no choice but to keep it. Dusty wants his mother sent away somewhere, where she is someone else’s problem to deal with, leading him to finding Shore Lodge, a psychiatric facility not far from where she already lives. Rose is against this but having a child and a parenting agreement with her ex-husband has no choice as she can’t move in with her mother to help. While Dusty agrees with Rose to try and get their mother to willingly agree to go, he informs her that he has power of attorney over their mothers medical and financial decisions and if needed he will use that to make sure she is in the Lodge.
Can Jacklyn prove her mental stability in time to save her home? Dusty loves to hold a grudge, but what does he hold against his mother? Rose only wants to help her mother but is this the right decision? The world the author builds is both beautiful and tragic. The characters are realistic in their actions, making you route for Jacklyn from page one that she will succeed. This book had me on the edge of my seat and holding my breath is several places and I can’t wait to read book two in the Millersville Series, The Thieves.

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