Finding Mrs. Ford
A Novel
by Deborah Goodrich Royce
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Pub Date Jun 25 2019 | Archive Date Aug 02 2019
Description
Named one of the top ten summer reads of 2019 by Good Morning America
Named one of the top fifty summer books of 2019 by Book Riot
On a sunny summer morning by the sea in New England, Susan Ford’s cocoon of privilege is threatened when an Iraqi man from her distant past boards a plane in Baghdad to come find her.
Mrs. Ford leads a privileged life. From her Blenheim spaniels to her cottage on the coast of Watch Hill, Rhode Island, she carefully curates her world. Hair in place, house in place, life in place, Susan Ford keeps it under control.
Early one morning in the summer of 2014, the past pays a call to collect. The FBI arrives to question her about a man from Iraq—a Chaldean Christian from Mosul—where ISIS has just seized control. Sammy Fakhouri, they say, is his name and they have taken him into custody, picked up on his way to her house.
Back in the summer of 1979, on the outskirts of a declining Detroit, college coed Susan meets charismatic and reckless Annie. They are an unlikely pair of friends but they each see something in the other—something they’d like to possess. Studious Susan is a moth to the flame that is Annie. Yet, it is dazzling Annie who senses that Susan will be the one who makes it out of Detroit.
Together, the girls navigate the minefields of a down-market disco where they work their summer jobs. It’s a world filled with pretty girls and powerful men, some of whom—like Sammy Fakhouri—happen to be Iraqi Chaldeans.
What happened in that summer of 1979 when Susan and Annie met? Why is Sammy looking for Susan all these years later? And why is Mrs. Ford lying?
Advance Praise
"In this absorbing debut, Deborah Goodrich Royce takes readers on a twisty, mesmerizing journey between the rarefied world of Watch Hill, Rhode Island and the warring of gangsters of 1970s suburban Detroit, as a grieving widow is forced to confront the consequences of a fateful summer thirty-five years earlier. Brimming with vivid characters and emotional insight, Finding Mrs. Ford tackles big themes of identity, friendship, and loss, spinning out the suspense to the last page. A total triumph." - Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author of "The Summer Wives"
"In her literary debut, Deborah Goodrich Royce has given us the sort of thriller that wants to be devoured in one sitting. Written from start to finish with crisp and poignant prose, compelling characters and setting, Finding Mrs. Ford entertains as much with imagery as with its masterful plot twists. I couldn't put it down." - Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, Author of "Eden" and "The Nine"
"Deborah Royce's first novel, Finding Mrs. Ford is a treat—an exquisitely written literary thriller that compels the reader forward right to the last page and makes one hope she is writing a second and third novel." - Patricia Chadwick, Author of "Little Sister: A Memoir"
"I tore right through the early galley of Finding Mrs. Ford by Deborah Goodrich Royce this past weekend. This is a thriller set in wealthy Watch Hill, RI and blighted suburbs of Detroit, MI, alternating between the late 1970s and present day, with an incredible twist in the middle that will take your breath away. Written with such self-control and calculating precision, Royce has done an excellent job of keeping us glued to the pages as the characters expose themselves in their intricate lives, and lies. A superb debut!" - Annie Philbrick
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781642931723 |
| PRICE | $27.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 400 |
Featured Reviews
Kay O, Reviewer
Definite favorite. The book really kept your interest, and was great all the way through. Highly recommend this book.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.
Pamela J, Reviewer
Such a good book! Susan Ford is a wealthy old-money widow living a peaceful existence in Watch Hill, Rode Island when her past comes calling. A Iraqi man named Sammy Fakhouri has been captured by the FBI while traveling to see Susan - and the FBI wants to know why. FINDING MRS. FORD does a wonderful job of revisiting Susan and her friend Annie's summer of '79 and showing us how Susan has becomes the person she is today. Goodrich Royce does a good job of making us contemplate how our impulses and judgments as young adults, though misguided, are necessary for us to truly evolve into the grown-ups we need to be.
Tea Leaves and Reads *, Bookseller
On a sunny summer morning by the sea in New England, Susan Ford’s cocoon of privilege is threatened when an Iraqi man from her distant past boards a plane in Baghdad to come find her.
We meet Mrs Ford in her carefully curated life - Blenheim Spaniels, Watch Hill Cottage in Rhode Island, close community, not a hair out of place... Mrs Ford has everything under control. Until the FBI arrive at her front door...
The book focuses on the current time (2014) with flashes back to the Summer of 1979, on the outskirts of declining Detroit where college coed Susan meets reckless and charismatic Annie. An unlikely duo, but their friendship will change both of their lives forever. Slowly, the reader is taken on a journey to unravel Mrs Ford's past as her present life begins to crumble.
This is Deborah Goodrich Royce's first novel as her career has largely been focused on acting and screenwriting. Perhaps her expertise in the area of screenwriting contributes greatly to the gritty feel of this book and the overwhelming feeling that it would make a fantastic movie on the big screen. For a debut, this was strong and entertaining enough to keep the momentum going throughout. Self control and calculating precision combine as the characters lives and lies are exposed.
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