In Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch

In Twenty Years
Allison Winn Scotch

Lake Union

Five former college housemates and best friends reunite at their old house twenty years after leaving Penn State.

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“. . .interaction between the five principle players is lively and spot-on.”

Bea Shoemaker, the sixth member of their close-knit group passed away some years before, and she made the posthumous arrangements for her friends to reunite. All five are about forty, and have changed and moved on in the years since – or so they like to believe. Catherine and Owen Grant married. Catherine became a famous domestic goddess with a worldwide online following; he became a house-husband. Annie Eisley also married and became the perfect suburban housewife. Colin Radcliffe graduated medical school to become a gifted plastic surgeon with a playboy reputation. Lindy Armstrong ran away to Nashville and a music career that shot her to stardom.

Now they are together again to celebrate July 4th birthday of their departed friend Bea. Time has passed, yet they still find much in each other and themselves that is shockingly familiar. Each hides behind a facade of success. Each has secrets they’d rather the others not discover. Colin knows the real reason behind Bea’s death, but he can’t tell the others. Annie’s perfect marriage isn’t so perfect after all. Prescription drug abuse clouds her past, her lack of self-confidence and longing for the handsome Colin nags her like a sore tooth. Plus, she suspects her husband is having an affair. 

Catherine and Owen’s relationship is under strain, as she chases perfection and a lucrative contract with a national chain of stores. Owen has decided the boredom of the house-husband’s role isn’t for him. And Lindy the maverick music star harbors unrequited love for Annie behind a tumultuous and complicated life of affairs and an unexpected life-changing event. Sparks fly during the holiday weekend as they all confront their past, squabble and make up and try to regain what they once had. The common bond was Bea. Can the noble and beloved spirit of the young woman they knew and memories of friendship between their younger selves rescue their present?

Scotch displays a wonderful talent for creating complex and engaging personalities In Twenty Years. The interaction between the five principle players is lively and spot-on. One for lovers of contemporary dramatic fiction.

Reviewer: Cindy A. Matthews