Hope Road

Days and Hours [Susan Meissner]

Days and Hours by Susan Meissner ****

After reading the first two novels in the Rachael Flynn mystery series - Widows and Orphans and Sticks and Stones - I was interested to see how the third would compare. Days and Hours is another intriguing mystery story featuring county prosecutor and young mother Rachael Flynn. When an infant is kidnapped, and his mother is bearing the brunt of the accusations, it’s up to Rachael to prove her nagging conviction that the mother is innocent.

Numerous quirky, lovable, suspicious, and grating characters people the pages of Days and Hours. Meissner weaves a tale that is more multi-dimensional and consistently interesting than Sticks and Stones. She is a master at the art of the cliffhanger, and has a good grasp of how to let the reader in on the secret just enough to give them inside information and pique their interest.

As with the previous two novels in the series, Days and Hours suffers from excessive dialogue, unnecessary details, and a few meandering plot twists that don’t contribute much, but these are relatively minor and don’t detract significantly from the success of the story. The harsh reality of life is dealt with sensitively and graciously. Neither the characters nor the ending were formulaic. Overall, this is an interesting and satisfying read.

Recommended age level: 14+.