Published by Gallery Books on March 21, 2017
Genres: Women’s Fiction
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
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From New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart comes the first novel in her all-new series, The Hudson Sisters, following a trio of reluctant sisters as they set out to fulfill their father’s dying wish. In the process, they find not only themselves, but the father they only thought they knew.
When celebrated and respected agent Fritz Hudson passes away, he leaves a trail of Hollywood glory in his wake—and two separate families who never knew the other existed. Allie and Des Hudson are products of Fritz’s first marriage to Honora, a beautiful but troubled starlet whose life ended in a tragic overdose. Meanwhile, Fritz was falling in love on the Delaware Bay with New Age hippie Susa Pratt—they had a daughter together, Cara, and while Fritz loved Susa with everything he had, he never quite managed to tell her or Cara about his West Coast family.
Now Fritz is gone, and the three sisters are brought together under strange circumstances: there’s a large inheritance to be had that could save Allie from her ever-deepening debt following a disastrous divorce, allow Des to open a rescue shelter for abused and wounded animals, and give Cara a fresh start after her husband left her for her best friend—but only if the sisters upend their lives and work together to restore an old, decrepit theater that was Fritz’s obsession growing up in his small hometown in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. Guided by Fritz’s closest friend and longtime attorney, Pete Wheeler, the sisters come together—whether they like it or not—to turn their father’s dream into a reality, and might just come away with far more than they bargained for.
I always hate when this happens, but I had already read book 2 in the series before I realized I actually had book 1 in my TBR (“to be read”) books. While book 2, The Sugarhouse Blues, did serve as a standalone, once I realized it was the second book in a series I knew I was going to have to read the first book too! (My review to book 2 is HERE – no spoilers so you should be okay.) It’s hard to go back and review book 1 when I’ve already read book 2 – I don’t want to pour over or mix up what I know, but I’ll do my best:
Fritz Hudson was a very wealthy businessman living a double life with two sets of families living on opposite coasts. Neither family was aware of the other, but that all changed when Fritz dies of cancer and his will is disclosed. The Last Chance Matinee is the story of the three sisters and a father they thought they knew and their realization that they didn’t know him as much as they thought. Fritz was married to his wife, Honora, and had two daughters, Allie and Des. He was also married to his wife, Susa, and had one daughter, Cara. When Fritz dies, Allie and Des realize they have a third sister, Cara, and they have an Aunt Barney.
When the will is read, the sisters learn that they need to live in Hudson Falls for the next year or so until the town theater owned by the family is restored to its former glory. It is only then that they can inherit their father’s huge estate. The longer they stay in Hudson Falls, the sisters begin to realize what a big part their family history played in this town.
I felt that Allie was hard to like all of the time, while Des was extremely likable. Cara was also very likable and since this book was basically the book in this series about her, I found that she was the one asking most of the questions regarding her deceased father.
There were many other intriguing and delightful layers to the story. The primary characters were well written and the secondary characters were woven in very nicely. Having read book 2, I will tell you that we see some of these characters again so it’s helpful that they’re introduced in this book.
My only disappointment is that I have to wait for the books in this series to be published (well, book 3 anyway
A native of Hightstown, NJ, Stewart is a member of Novelists, Inc, Thriller Writers International, Sisters in Crime, PASIC, the Romance Writers of America, the New Jersey Romance Writers, the Valley Forge Romance Writers, and the Washington Romance Writers. She lives with her husband and their two dogs — a geriatric golden retriever and a rambunctious rescue retriever mix — amidst the rolling hills of Chester County, PA where she savors country life, tends her gardens, and tries to avoid running the Amish buggies off the road with her SUV.
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