Her Mother's Shadow

by Diane Chamberlain

When Lacey O'Neill was 13 years old, she and her mother went to a battered woman's shelter on Christmas Eve to bring dinner and gifts to the residents. While serving the food, an angry husband breaks in and attempts to shoot his wife and son. Lacey's mom jumps in front and is shot and killed instead.

Lacey sees the entire thing and while dealing with her grief, she tries to be just like her mother, who people call Saint Anne. Then as an adult, she learns things about her mother that shock her and make her doubt her desire to be like her mother. As she is working through this and trying to get her life together, her closest friend from childhood dies and leaves her 11 year old daughter in Lacey's custody.

11 year old Mackenzie resents Lacey and her new home and makes life difficult every chance she gets. Lacey tries to bond with the girl and make them a family all while trying to fight the legal system to keep her mother's murder in jail instead of on parole.

Quote I liked:

"....when someone lets their emotions take over, they usually lose sight of reason."