I read this book a while back and it was one of the first Barbara Delinsky novels I had ever read. The story was slow to build, which is usually the case for Barbara Delinsky novels, the characters were all unique and unforgettable, the way most characters are in small town romances, and the writing itself is good. Barbara Delinsky allows us(the readers)to project ourselves in Lake Henry almost unconsciously, I worried about Heather's fate, and the humongous chip on Poppy's shoulder; I sympathized with Griffin and felt sorrow for Micah. The characters in this book are not very deep, and yet, not terribly cliché, 'The accidental woman' is pretty good read.

RECOMMENDED

I bought this off amazon's bargain rack as I've been searching for new authors to expand my horizons a little. Set in New Hampshire, I found the story telling interesting through the first 100 pages as I was roped into the suspense around Heather Malone and the "is-she-or-isn't-she-a-wanted murderer-on-the-run" drama. Then the story got off-track with 250 pages of maple sap making lessons, snowmobile accidents, siblings disappearing, and finally more maple sap...I could go on but I won't waste anymore of your time like this book did with mine.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It had all the elements of what a good story should have. A great setting, thought out plot and great characters. Characters that I really cared about and felt for.

Sometimes when you read a book you're just......there, with them. This was one of those books for me. I was in Lake Henry with Poppy and Micah. I felt the heartache that Micah and the girls were feeling. The warmth and tightness of a small town that really pulls together during tough times and I fell in love with Griffin.

This is my only my third Barbara Delinsky novel and after each one I say "This is my new favorite book." She really has a way of making you feel that you really know the people she writes about and care for their fate.

AN ACCIDENTAL WOMAN offers multiple means of dealing with potentially debilitating emotional stress. Characters work through romancing the wheelchair, and having a close friend/mother/wife/caring-woman railroaded and wrongly arrested in the middle of the night; they grow themselves into functional intimacy, and still take time for healthy fun, both private and social.

Tragedy has no dominion in Lake Henry; it's hammered out and transformed. Stress is everywhere. Yet, everyone deals, and wheels right along, following maple sugar production into the sweet parts of life. Full time therapy at $$$/hour couldn't do more to show how to LIVE through trauma better than the mood management "seminar" in this sensitive, delightful novel.

Self-help books move over. Delinsky's fiction does it better, with pleasure (and a never ending supply of enlightened common sense). This writer wins against all odds. Her readers win even more

This book actually contains two stories. The main characters are Poppy and Griffin. The drama of Heather is the main event, and the storyline is related with solving secrets of Heather.
I could not decide whether I really liked this book or not. I gave it four stars because there are lots of rubbish stories on the bookshelves and this one deserves some stars if you compare to others.

One early morning, the FBI agents come to Heather Malone's and Mircah's & Mircah's two daughters home in Lake Henry with an arrest warrant and demand that she is Lisa Matlock from California who is wanted for a murder. The events start, everybody including lifepartner Mircah realizes that they know nothing about her. Heather totally refuses to talk and never open her innerself as if she is dump.
Her friend Poppy, a paraplegic, determines to help to whole family.
The problem of the book is the ending. I could not understand what happened at the end of the book. Of course, it was clear but somehow lacked of deep emotion. Just like that, It ended! I am still curious about so many things. Such as why there had to be a soap opera chapter in the end?

Ms Delinsky usually repeats and gilds the sentences unnecessarily. As a result, the book has 500 pages. As I pointed out before, better than the average.