This was a heart-wrenching tale of two families. Two officers meet at training school and then begin their careers together. Then, the Gleesons, Francis and Lena, along with the Stanhopes, Brian and Anne, move next door to each other. They begin to raise their families, but behind closed doors, things are not always perfect.
Peter Stanhope and Kate Gleeson have always been best friends, from the time they were toddlers. Tragedy strikes one night when they are in 8th grade, and the rest of their lives revolve around how they and their families come to cope with this moment in time.
This is a very sad tale of mental illness, of healing, of redemption, of love, of forgiveness. Very moving.

#AskAgainYes #MaryBethKeane

SPOILER ALERT: this was just an ok read for me. I didn't find that the characters had much depth, especially Brian. Not sure how he could just leave his son the way he did and never even communicate. I found Peter's character very difficult to understand, even though I do gt that his whole family has issues. I don't really understand where all the four and five starts are coming from and don't get the title. Still, you should read the book to base your own opinions -- wasn't horrible,,,just fair for me.

Great read, good character development

Sometimes confusing- had to reread certain passages to understand what was written.



Kept expecting the worst to happen.



Felt the author was trying to write about serious subjects but lacked the real knowledge or experience to truly describe the pain and suffering of mental health or addiction issues.

Loved the writing and story development. I didn’t know what it was about, so it caught me off guard a few times.

It made me realize that people that act the way they do it’s because there’s an underlying problem that they need to get professional help or they can destroy lives.

Loved this book both in print and the audio version. Imagine what would happen if Romeo and Juliet met in today's modern world, and lived... Mary Beth Keane knows her characters so well. You will recognize them too. A beautiful story about love and tragedy and forgiveness.

The print in this book was so light that it was barely legible. All those who chose to read the print version of the book rather than with an eBook were disappointed. The story was interesting, although it was a bit gloomy. Good discussion, though!