^#smrgSAHAF Losing Mr. North: A Novel - 2002

Married for thirty-one years, Jack and Linda North live on a spread of land seven hours north of Los Angeles. But once a month, this retired police detective and grandfather of four makes the drive to L.A. and another woman -- Rachel, his mistress of six years. For a week, Jack tidies a different lawn, fixes the broken cogs in a different wheel, and makes love to a different woman with a different set of charms. There are no secrets in this triangle -- each knows the names of the players and the rules, and, despite the nagging disapproval of others, the triangle remains stable by tacit consent of all three. Until one hot, dry Monday when Jack leaves to make the monthly drive -- and never shows up. Now, two women who have held tight to their resentment of each other must come together to find the man they love.

With the uncanny ability to breathe real life into her characters, Elaine Kagan writes a courageous story of the uneasy alliance that binds a wife and a mistress. She explores the compassion borne of shared heartache and deftly describes a riveting journey of two women that breaks the pattern of countless stories of infidelity. Losing Mr. North is a brutally honest and brilliant rendering of an unlikely peace.