Keeping Time by Stacey McGlynn – Review

Keeping Time by Stacey McGlynn

Description:

Daisy Phillips is tired of being treated like an old lady. Sure, there was that incident with the lawn mower and the mud. And the one where she was stranded at the top of her own ladder. But that doesn’t make her incapable of living on her own, as her son Dennis seems to think. Now Dennis is pushing her to sell the family home in Liverpool and move into a retirement community. To make matters worse, her best friend is going away for the summer and the new boss at the library politely informed her that her services as a volunteer are no longer needed. Is it any wonder that Daisy is feeling distressed?

But the unflappable Daisy won’t go down without a fight. What she needs is an adventure. A long-forgotten watch found in her basement provides the perfect start. It belonged to her first love, an American soldier stationed in England during World War II. With a decades-old Brooklyn address as her only clue, Daisy embarks on a trip to New York City with plans to track him down and return the valuable keepsake, and maybe also while she’s at it, managing a peek at the life she might have had.

Daisy Phillips wants her son to stop worrying about her and stop pressuring her to move into a “retirement community.” She enjoys her independence, even if she finds herself in certain precarious predicaments from time to time. From the minute you start reading this enchanting tale you will fall in love with Daisy. She is feisty, honest and real. She is also a 77-year-old widow. The unexpected discovery of a watch given to her by a former love leads her on an adventure to America to uncover long forgotten secrets and reconnect with loved ones. Stacey McGlynn’s writing style is completely unique and fresh. This is a debut novel that should help generate a strong following.

When Daisy tells her son that she is going to the US to visit relatives she has never met, she does not tell him that she is going to track down a past love. She does not want her overbearing son to worry or try to convince her out of it. She is taking a leap of faith in her life and venturing ahead on a new path, throwing caution to the wind and truly living!

“Where will you stay? What will you do?” Irritated. Frustrated. Totally thrown.

“I have a cousin in New York. On Long Island. I’ll write and inquire whether I can stay with her.”

“A cousin?”

“You must remember that my mother’s sister married an American?”

Dennis, blinking in rapid succession. “But you don’t even know her.”

“That’s true.” Daisy, nodding. “And it’s high time I did.” Hardly believing it herself. Proud and delighted that it had hit her. Perhaps she had needed that roll in the mud to free her.

And set her traveling again.

The unique writing style is an unexpected delight in this charming tale of unexpected journeys, the power of friendship and family and the enduring power of love. I read it in one sitting and found myself completely captivated by the writing, the story and the characters. A fantastic debut novel and I look forward to more from Stacey McGlynn.