Better to Trust by Heather Frimmer ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

When trust is violated, can it ever be recovered?

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

September 2021; Wyatt-MacKenzie; 978-1954332034
ebook, print (320 pages); medical fiction

I enjoyed Heather Frimmer's first book Bedside Manner (read my review and read MK's review) and was anxious to read her sophomore novel. I wasn't disappointed and enjoyed it even more than her first.  Her two novels revolve around hospitals and health issues and are emotional stories that give the readers a lot to think about. Better to Trust is told by three characters in various time periods and I didn't think the switches were difficult to follow. In fact, using three characters to tell the story gives the readers a chance to truly understand the issues.  

Alison is a teacher who passed out at school and is rushed to the hospital where they find a growth in her brain. She needs surgery and begs her brother-in-law Grant to do the surgery. Even before this event, Alison and her husband are dealing with problems in their marriage and she is having an affair with a female teacher. We see Alison as a healthy woman who takes care of herself and after surgery is unable to talk or walk.

Grant is a world-renowned neurosurgeon and an expert in treating Alison's condition. He is married to Alison's sister and they have one daughter, Sadie. He is hiding a secret from his family and colleagues -- his addiction to prescription pills. Did his addiction negatively affect  Alison's brain surgery?

Sadie is angry at her parents and starts making some poor decisions and hanging out with a girl at school that's pushing her to risky situations that continue to escalate. She manages to get herself into some tricky situations that end up affecting her entire family.

This novel about love and family and forgiveness is a real page-turner. All of the main characters have major decisions to make that will greatly affect their lives in the future. Will they all make the right decisions and become a family again or will past mistakes keep them estranged? 

This family drama grabbed my attention from the first page when Alison is working to regain her strength in physical rehab. She was fighting hard to bring her life back to normal and has to make a big decision about her sexuality. Grant has to decide if he can make changes to bring his life back to normal without pills and Sadie needs to decide if she wants to stay on the same path of risky behavior or go back to the person she was before. Will these characters be able to forgive each other and more importantly themselves?

Heather Frimmer is a radiologist specializing in breast and emergency room imaging. She completed her medical training at Weill-Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian-Cornell, and Yale New Haven Hospital. 

Buy Better to Trust at Amazon

(the ebook is a free read for Kindle Unlimited subscribers)

 

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina with her husband of over 50 years.  She grew up in Michigan but now calls North Carolina home. Since her travel plans had to be canceled for this year, she is starting to make plans for travel in 2021. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and historical fiction. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook.

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