THE MIDWIFE'S CONFESSION

THE MIDWIFE'S CONFESSION by Diane Chamberlain was read for the Just for Fun Reading Challenge 2011.

From the book flap:

Dear Anna,
What I have to tell you is difficult to write, but I know it will be far more difficult for you to hear, and I'm so sorry...

The unfinished letter is the only clue Tara and Emerson have to the reason behind their close friend Noelle's suicide.  Everything they knew about Noelle - her calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family - described a woman who embraced life.

Yet there was so much they didn't know.

With the discovery of the letter and its heartbreaking secret, Noelle's friends begin to uncover the truth about this complex woman who touched each of their lives - and the life of a desperate stranger - with love and betrayal, compassion and deceit.

It's been a long time since a book grabbed me so quickly and completely that I finished it in one day.  This book did just that.

The story jumped from past to present and was told in 5 voices - Noelle, Emerson, Tara, Grace and Anna - but wasn't confusing at all.  The characters were complex and real.  As the story progressed, more and more of Noelle's past and a terrible secret that she had carried for years was revealed.  Everything seemed to point to a specific ending, but then the author threw in a huge surprise.

With the situation unresolved by the finish of the book, I am wondering if the author plans a sequel to this.  I would love to read further about these characters.