Mermaid Chair

And although 'Desperate Housewives' has thrown a spotlight onto suburban housewives’ angst while enlightening television viewers, there aren’t many books that cover the subject of women’s mid-life crisis. Until now, that is.

'Mermaid’s Chair', the second novel from the acclaimed author of 'The Secret Life of Bees', is filled with the florid descriptions and sensitivity that made her previous book a bestseller.

Jessie is woken in the wee hours of the morning by a phone call from her mother's best friend; turns out mom, Nelle, has just hacked off her right hand index finger with a meat cleaver.

So Jessie must travel to her old home on Egret Island to look after Nelle and find out why she did such a thing, all the while faced with the memory of her long-dead father.

Killed in an accident for which Jessie still feels wholly responsible, his death originally caused her to leave the island as soon as she possibly could. But it still looms large over the island she once called home.

A quirky place, it is not only home to a slave cemetery and an immortal dog named Max, but boasts a monastery of net-making monks whose blessed wares are sold around America. One of these monks is Brother Thomas — just months away from taking his final vows and also trying to forget his previous life.

Jessie and Brother Thomas meet, are instantly attracted to each other and, as happens, begin a passionate affair. But do they really love each other or is she simply trying to escape a stagnant marriage and predictable husband?

Thrown into this heady mix of monks, severed fingers and mid-life crisis is St. Sanara, the loose mermaid turned patron saint of the island — yet another quirky religious icon from the author who gave us the Black Madonna in 'Secret Life of Bees'.

Despite, or maybe because of, its quirks 'Mermaid Chair' is a stunning, gentle and beautiful novel that is bound to be another bestseller for Kidd.