March 2022

In THE GOOD SON, Jacquelyn Mitchard opens the book with Thea Demetriou at the prison gates waiting to pick up her son, Stefan, as he is released from prison. It’s a brilliant “cold open” with this line: “I was picking my son up at the prison gates when I spotted the mother of the girl he had murdered.” And she goes on to say, “Two independent clauses, ten words each, joined by an adverb, made up entirely of words that would once have been unimaginable to think, much less say.”

Right from the start, we see the depths of a mother’s love --- and we also see the conflict in Thea’s eyes as she watches the other mother and realizes that she will never have this type of reunion with her daughter.

Stefan has trouble adjusting to life beyond bars. He’s skittish, and Thea keeps an eye on him --- especially as the media and protestors surround their home, intent on continuing to weigh in on his guilt. Slowly he overcomes his struggles, moving himself to a place of healing but always wondering what exactly happened the night his girlfriend was killed. He had been drinking and had done a number of drugs, so while he has accepted his guilt, that night was a fog to him.

I am not going to share more here lest I give the story away. But I will say that this would make for a terrific book group discussion!

» Watch my "Bookreporter Talks To" interview with Jacquelyn Mitchard and listen to the podcast.