THE LAST SEPTEMBER is the story of marriage --- one not of romance or intimacy but of doubt, insecurity and, ultimately, trauma. Emotionally raw and terribly realistic, the novel tells the story of a young wife who, never fully secure or content in her marriage, must face the loss of her husband and the unresolved feelings that entails. Yet author Nina de Gramont balances the sorrow found here with some interesting themes such as forgiveness, grief, love and the power of poetry.

Charlie and Brett met at a college party hosted by Charlie's brother, Eli, years ago. They shared a magical night together and then went their separate ways. After just that one night, Brett developed a deep affection for Charlie. But Eli warned her that his brother was a womanizer, so she did her best to move on. And, in fact, Brett ended up engaged to Ladd, a childhood friend of Charlie and Eli's. Just before Brett and Ladd were to be married, Charlie comes back into her life. She walks away from her engagement and enters into a whirlwind yet ultimately unsatisfying relationship with Charlie.

"de Gramont explores the emotional challenges of marriage and family, and questions of loyalty set against the mystery of Charlie's murder. The haunting poetry of Dickinson lends to the foggy atmosphere and gloomy, introspective tone of the book."

THE LAST SEPTEMBER begins with Charlie's brutal murder and Brett's reflections on their lives together, her friendship with Eli, her history with Ladd, and her status as a grieving widow and mother. The truth of Brett and Charlie's marriage was complicated: they had spent years as on-again, off-again caregivers for Eli after his diagnosis of schizophrenia, the restaurant they opened had failed, and Charlie had recently ended an affair with one of their employees. All of this was even further muddied by the strains of parenting a young child and the difficulties of Brett finishing up her dissertation on the life and poetry of Emily Dickinson. Yet beyond even all of those factors were the tensions that had always existed between them, namely, Brett's devotion and adoration of Charlie and Charlie's casual response to her affection and easy dismissal of her needs. Yes, Charlie and Brett loved each other, but it was a messy and complex kind of love full of disappointment, frustration and even loneliness.

In THE LAST SEPTEMBER, de Gramont explores the emotional challenges of marriage and family, and questions of loyalty set against the mystery of Charlie's murder. The haunting poetry of Dickinson lends to the foggy atmosphere and gloomy, introspective tone of the book. Neither Brett nor Charlie are completely likable characters; in fact, they are both deeply flawed as spouses and family members. Brett is interestingly isolated; she is finishing her schoolwork distant from campus, has no living family and seemingly no close established friendships with peers, lives with a husband who is not really emotionally available, and lives in fear of a friend and brother-in-law who may be violent and dangerous. Her thoughts and reflections, her perspective and grief --- more so than any action or resolution --- are at the center of the novel.

There are moments of brightness and possibility here as well. Brett is becoming stronger in her role as a mother, coming to terms with her feelings for both Charlie and Eli, and even trying to understand how and why she left Ladd the way she did. In some ways, THE LAST SEPTEMBER is like Brett's coming-of-age story after her development was arrested on the night she met Charlie. de Gramont's prose is spare and often quite touching, with sadness and hope in equal shares.