While I Was Gone (Oprah's Book Club) by Sue Miller

When past meets present, August 4, 2006*****


This is the first Sue Miller novel I have read. I picked it up from my wife's collection of unread novels when I had run out of my usual suspense/thrillers. To my surprise I found myself very quickly caught up in the story and the characters. Sue Miller is an excellent writer. She has a good eye for the details of domestic life and family dynamics which provide a good backdrop for the mysteries and secrets of vet Jo Becker. Jo is in an apparently happy marriage to Daniel, a minister. It's her second marriage. One day a friend from the past shows up as a client at her vet clinic. This leads us on a journey through Jo's memories of a time in the 60s when she escaped from her first marriage and lived in a group home/commune in Cambridge Mass. This hippy period of her life ends with the tragic murder of one of her roommates by a person or persons unknown. In the present Jo learns the identity of the killer, someone with whom she is tempted to stray until she learns his terrible secret. Jo wrestles with her conscience and reveals all to her husband who is shocked more at her intent to betray him than he is by the murderer's identity. How Jo deals with these challenges is dealt with in a well crafted way.

I highly recommend this novel.