BEFORE THE STORM

BEFORE THE STORM by Diane Chamberlain

From the back of the book:

Fifteen-year-old Andy Lockwood is special.  Others notice the way he blurts out anything that comes into his mind, how he cannot foresee consequences, that he's more child than teenager.  But his mother sees a boy with a heart as open and wide as the ocean.

Laurel Lockwood lost her son once through neglect.  She's spent the rest of her life determined to make up for her mistakes, and she's succeeded in becoming a committed, protective parent - maybe even overprotective.  Still, she loosens her grip just enough to let Andy attend a local church social - a decision that terrifies her when the church is consumed by fire.  But Andy survives...and remarkably, saves other children from the flames.  Laurel watches as Andy basks in the role of unlikely hero and the world finally sees her Andy, the sweet boy she knows as well as her own heart.

But when the suspicion of arson is cast upon Andy, Laurel must ask herself how well she really knows her son...and how far she'll go to keep her promise to protect him forever.

This is a book I've had sitting on the shelf for quite a while and just never got around to reading.  It turned out to be a good book.

I liked the way the book was written from the viewpoint of different characters.  There were parts that were flashbacks that gave an insight into Laurel's problems with alcohol and postpartum depression after the birth of her first child, Maggie, and the early days of her marriage.  A lot of family secrets that all came together at the end of the book.

I've read one other book (THE SECRET LIFE OF CEECEE WILKES) by Ms. Chamberlain and I'll be looking for more.