The Long Way Home by Karen McQuestion

Title: The Long Way Home
Author: Karen McQuestion
Reviewer: Stephanie
Genre: Adult Fiction (Mildly Paranormal?)
Rating: Worship
Alerts/Warnings: There is a talk about a murder and two physical attacks on a character
Premise: For Wisconsinites Marnie, Laverne and Rita, life isn't working out so well. Each is biding time, waiting for something better, something to transport them out of what their lives have recently become. And then there's Jazzy: bubbly, positive, and happy even though she hears voices of the departed. Brought together by a chance meeting, the women decide to join Marnie on a road trip from Wisconsin to Las Vegas where she intends to reunite with Troy, the boy she raised as her own—and who she’s been separated from since her boyfriend’s death. Little do they know that as the road trip unfolds, so will their lives—in directions they never anticipated. Humorous, heartwarming, and bittersweet, the journey has something special in store for each woman.

Opinions: So this is the third book I have read and reviewed by Karen McQuestion.  The other two (here and here) are YA fantasy.  So I didn't know what to expect from this novel since it was not at all like the other two I've read.  This is most assuredly a book for adults.  Three of the characters are dealing with the death or loss of a loved one and the fourth character hears the voices of departed souls.  Unexpectedly thrown together, these four women go on a road trip to help one of the women try to reconnect with her stepson.

I love the use of the physical journey mirroring the mental journey these four women take.  I really felt the pain that they were in and the healing process they went through.  This is one of Karen McQuestions' strengths as a writer.  She writers her characters so effortlessly that you connect with them easily and quickly.  I was hooked from the very beginning of the book and I couldn't put it down.  I felt like I was a part of the group on the journey to Nevada.

This is a phenomenal book.  It was a great piece of fiction and I enthusiastically encourage you to take the time to read it.  It is worth it.