Synopses & Reviews
"Gripping...captivating." --
Houston Chronicle"An...engrossing tale, meticulously detailed...with [Thayer's] trademark compassionate realism." --Publishers Weekly
Young, brilliant, and engaged to the perfect guy, Kelly Macleod feels ready to begin her new appointment as a Massachusetts judge. With all her dreams coming true, Kelly never envisions what might go wrong...
Then a chance meeting with a man at a cemetery awakens an unexpected passion in Kelly. Agreeing not to reveal their real names to each other, Kelly and the stranger begin an affair. But Kelly's lover is really Randall Madison, a doctor on the brink of divorcing his wife, Anne, a well-known political candidate who will stop at nothing to gain custody of their daughter. In the courtroom, as well as the bedroom, his life will unexpectedly dovetail with Kelly's. And as a secret from Kelly's own past re-emerges, she must make a life-changing decision, as a judge-and as a woman.
A spellbinding novel about betrayal and desire, Custody looks at today's families, children caught between warring parents, and the price men and women pay for love....
"Gripping...riveting and complex...Thayer's accessible style and gift for reaching the emotional core of her characters only makes Custody all the more captivating a book."
--Houston Chronicle
Review
"Gripping...captivating." --
Houston Chronicle"An...engrossing tale, meticulously detailed...with [Thayer's] trademark compassionate realism." --Publishers Weekly
"Gripping...riveting and complex...Thayer's accessible style and gift for reaching the emotional core of her characters only makes Custody all the more captivating a book."
--Houston Chronicle
Synopsis
When Kelly MacLeod becomes a Massachusetts Family Court judge, she is determined to do what is right. But what is right when one's deepest personal emotions clash with the law?
Anne Madison, a respected state reformer with political aspirations, wants custody of her 12-year-old adopted daughter Tessa, as does Randall Madison, a prominent physician. Tessa, caught between warring parents, on the brink of her own sexuality, wonders who her birth mother is, and tries to please those she loves at a cost that just might be too high.
How does one balance public service with private desires? What does it mean, legally and emotionally, to be a family? How does one move past anger and sorrow toward compassion and wisdom? How do adults learn to temper their own wills with the best needs of the child?
In order to must answer these questions, Kelly MacLeod must judge her new and mysterious lover, her own past, and the complications of many kinds of love.
Synopsis
Young, brilliant, and engaged to the perfect guy, Kelly Macleod feels ready to begin her new appointment as a Massachusetts judge. With all her dreams coming true, Kelly never envisions what might go wrong...
Then a chance meeting with a man at a cemetery awakens an unexpected passion in Kelly. Agreeing not to reveal their real names to each other, Kelly and the stranger begin an affair. But Kelly's lover is really Randall Madison, a doctor on the brink of divorcing his wife, Anne, a well-known political candidate who will stop at nothing to gain custody of their daughter. In the courtroom, as well as the bedroom, his life will unexpectedly dovetail with Kelly's. And as a secret from Kelly's own past re-emerges, she must make a life-changing decision, as a judge-and as a woman.
A spellbinding novel about betrayal and desire, Custody looks at today's families, children caught between warring parents, and the price men and women pay for love....
About the Author
Nancy Thayer is the author of twelve novels, including
Between Husbands & Friends, An Act of Love and
Three Women at the Water's Edge. Nancy Thayer joined St. Martin's with her novel
Belonging. She lives in Nantucket, Massachusetts.