Mrs. Saint and the Defectives by Julie Lawson Timmer

Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'Mrs. Saint and the Defectives', A Novel by Julie Lawson Timmer.

In Mrs. Saint And The Defectives
by Julie Lawson Timmer, we come to terms with the label ‘Busy Body.’ As you find the spirit of this work through your reading, you will have an opportunity to see just how effective such a person might be.
Markie is a woman who has lost it all, her marriage as well as her financial and professional life. Embarrassed and depressed she packs up and moves with her teenage son to a new town where she can begin again to pick up the pieces of her world, privately. The one problem is an elderly neighbor, Mrs. Saint, that takes it upon herself to help fix whatever problems that she feels or determines that Markie has. Not only that, but she brings in her own group of friends to help.

Markie is both annoyed and disturbed, she wants to move on, and forget her problems. Yet she soon comes to realize that forgetting does not heal the hurt, and with the help of Mrs. Saint, she is able to find a way to cure both her own worries and feelings as well as those of her son.  When she and the other “defectives” find that Mrs. Saint has her own secrets that can threaten her own world, they jump in to find a way to help a woman who goes out of her way to help heal others through her kindness as well as her stubbornness. Can they come together and bring hope to Mrs. Saint as she has, in turn, done for them?

Julie Lawson Timmer has given us a feel-good book full of characters with interesting, fun, and even curmudgeonly, at times, personalities. The problems and solutions are real and she finds a way to bring each character together and create a bond that stems from kindness and caring. Using an older woman of mysterious means, she takes us into the world where hope and friendships create a healing, even for those who do not realize they are in pain.

If you are looking for that feel-good book for light summertime reading this will be a great one to begin your journey. Interesting and heartwarming, you will find yourself reflecting on each character long after reading about them.

This would be a wonderful book for a reading group or book club, full of creative dialogue.

Rating 4/5