Just Jennifer

The Good Goodbye by Carla Buckley

Cousins Rory and Arden are closer than most sisters are.  When the two go away to school together and a fire breaks out, a tragedy occurs that unravels years of secrets and changes everything the family believed, one small detail at a time.  There are often two sides to every story, but in this case, there are often three: told from three points of view, Natalie, the mother waiting to see if her daughter will live or die, and Rory and Arden, the truth about the story of Natalie and Rory’s father Vinnie, who she first dated, and the restaurant they have nurtured is slowly revealed.  The relationships between Rory and her mother and Rory and Arden are viewed from different angles until the truth about how the fire began is revealed.  The mystery of the fire effectively serves as the impetus that starts these events that will reveal the most devastating truth at the very end, a truth that will save one family but destroy another.