Some Friends Become Like Family
Dora Maxwellââ?¬â?¢s life has been turned upside down in her hometown of Maine just like the rest of the world during the COVID pandemic in the novel, ââ?¬Å"Sheltering in Place: A Jake and Dora Novel, Book 1ââ?¬Â? by Priscilla Audette. Not only is she trying to stay healthy and safe without contracting the virus, but sheââ?¬â?¢s still trying to adjust to life after losing her husband Nelson, suddenly to an unexpected aneurysm. If matters werenââ?¬â?¢t difficult enough, she and her son Jesse, have recently become estranged. She feels that the whole world has turned against her at a time when she could really use all the support she can find. Since Nelsonââ?¬â?¢s death, an annoying neighbor by the name of Thomas has become a pest to her and she doesnââ?¬â?¢t know how to stop his friendly overtures. Life keeps throwing her punches, though. While shopping one day in a Walgreens to pick up some essentials, she witnesses a robbery happening. The police arrive and start taking statements from her and another witness named Jake. Little do they know that fate has something more interesting in store for both of them.
First, I would like to say that I really enjoyed this book because it was wrapped around recent events. Everyone knows what it felt like to have to shelter in place for an extended period because of COVID and how difficult it was to adjust to a new and different way of life. As I turned the pages, I was reliving how I felt and what I was doing with my family to try and stay as safe and healthy as possible. I felt bad for Dora because she was still mourning the death of her husband and this had already had a profound impact on her life, but after her son Jesse moved out, and COVID hit, life was completely upside down for her. Throw into the mix Dora met a stranger who also witnessed the robbery at Walgreens, and things just seemed to steadily spin out of control for her. I admired her strength and courage to continue fighting to keep her head above water no matter how hard it may have seemed at times for her.
When it came to Thomas, the annoying neighbor, and all his overtures toward Dora, something immediately raised a red flag for me. I didn�t feel comfortable with him and knew that he needed to be kept at a distance from Dora to keep her safe. As the story progressed and Thomas continued all his unnecessary and unwanted behaviors, I had a bad feeling that he was going to do something awful to Dora since she kept dismissing him. Without giving away any spoilers, when the climax of the story unfolded before me, I hated Thomas even more than I had in the beginning. I felt he got away with too much for too long, and justice needed to be served.
As Jake entered the picture, first at the Walgreens robbery, then spotted later around town, I felt somewhat on guard at first because he was a stranger, yet I was intrigued enough that I wanted to get to know him better. He seemed the polar opposite of Dora, but as they say, ââ?¬Å"opposites attract,ââ?¬Â? and because of this I had hoped that maybe a friendship might spark between them. There was a reason they both kept crossing paths with each other in town, so I was hopeful something good might come from them meeting each other.
Although I liked this book, there were a few things that I wished were different. First, the story unfolded slowly at times. Having said that, I kept reading because I wanted to get to what the mystery was going to be. As for the mystery, I felt it started to unfold late in the novel. I was a bit surprised by this, but nonetheless, the story was satisfying by the time I finished it.
Overall, I enjoyed getting lost in Dora and Jakeââ?¬â?¢s world for a few hours and I was happy with how the author tied up the loose ends in ââ?¬Å"Sheltering in Place.ââ?¬Â? I definitely felt that Dora and Jake could continue on with their story and Ms. Audetteââ?¬â?¢s readers will be happy to know that this is a continuing series. If youââ?¬â?¢re looking to read a mystery wrapped around recent events, look no further. This was an enjoyable read!
