Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin

I loved this gorgeous novel which while lightish in style dealt with some rather heavy issues, in this case marriage and infidelity. Giffin had come highly recommended to me so I got hold this earlier novel of hers and when I needed a read that would be more relaxing than my usual fare, I picked this book up and much to my surprise I couldn`t put it down and was actually sad to finish it, the main reason for that being that I had become invested in all of Giffin`s characters and they felt almost like family which is a testimony to Giffin`s writing ability.
The axis of the story is the marriage of Tessa and Nick Russo, which due to Nick`s abilities as a Plastic Surgeon collides head on with the very competent and attractive solo mother Valerie Anderson whose son Charlie suffers serious injuries which require the services of a skilled surgeon to fix.The stresses and strains of parenting young children have taken there toll on Tessa and Nick and combined with the inevitable patch of staleness in the marriage, allows a door to open when Nick crosses the professional line and develops a firm friendship with the very needy Charlie and the equally needy Valerie.
The story is wonderfully backlit with each characters story being revealed and adding to the depth of understanding that the reader needs to relate to their present lifestyles, situations and motivations, each action and interchange leads almost to a domino effect and in the end the dominoes topple wildly out of control with repercussions for all.
A story of love, of want and desire, this is a read that will resonate. It is also a story of compassion, misunderstanding and forgiveness, it has a lovely dollop of humour. It is also a first class read. I have already purchased Giffin`s latest novel and I will be picking up the rest of her back catalogue when I hit the States in the near future.
Available via the Library System, Giffin`s latest Where we Belong is available in Trade Paperback.