4.5-STAR, ROMANTIC TIMES TOP PICK and Winner of the Road to Romance REVIEWER'S CHOICE Award!!!
Originally published in 2003 by Warner Books (Warner Forever).
Years and distance kept the memories at bay. But back at home, the past is ready and waiting to haunt her...
Eighteen years have passed since Joy's childhood best friend, Jenny, met her death in a tragic car accident just a few days after their senior prom. A broken Joy left their small Kentucky hometown shortly after--determined never to come back. But when her father's illness forces her to return, she realizes that neither time nor distance have truly healed her troubled soul.
Plagued with nightmares of the accident and crippled by a vague fear whose source she can't identify, Joy realizes that in order to move on she must face the truth behind several disturbing gaps in her memory of that fateful spring. But the only person who can help her is a man she despises--Jenny's erstwhile boyfriend Jeff, now a respected doctor, whose carelessness as a teenager was the cause of Jenny's horrendous death--and Joy's own emotional destruction. Can she ever forgive? She may have no choice but to try. Because both the danger she sensed--and the childhood friendship she treasured--now suddenly seem very much alive...
“LONG TIME COMING is a remarkably well blended romance and mystery, with fascinating shades of the paranormal. The way each layer of Joy's discovery of her forgotten past is revealed is deftly done and exceptionally suspenseful. The relationship between Joy and her parents is heart warming. This one will have you hooked from the first page.” December 2003 Top Pick. Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine
“An abundance of charm…Joy’s perky first-person narration carries readers along to a warm, gratifying conclusion.” --Publisher’s Weekly
“Emotionally gripping, suspenseful and superb…I was held in wonderment over much of this story and realized early on to expect the unexpected. This is a story of trust, love, friendship and healing. Ms. Claire is an author I hope to see more of in the future. If Long Time Coming is any indication of her writing talent, I will be first in line at the bookstores to get more of her work. This is a positively splendid tale from start to finish and is highly recommended.”
Reviewer’s Choice Award -- Road to Romance
“Two words. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! Edie Claire has written a wonderful novel about friendship, love, guilt and death… Utterly riveting.” Rating: 10/10-- Contemporary Romance Writers
"Claire's charming romance disproves the adage that you can't go home again." -- Booklist
A book of healing, understanding, rebirth, and finally growing up. A story that you won't forget easily...I could only sigh in appreciation as I turned the final page." -- Romance Reviews Today
"Intense, well-written and thought-provoking." -- Old Book Barn Gazette
“A most fantastic novel… When the story comes to an end and the lights have been lowered…and the reader is left with a longing to know more...there is no better compliment to the author.” -- Romance Junkies
From Booklist
When Joy Hudson left home she thought it was for good, but now that her father has suffered a major heart attack, she's back in Wharton, Kentucky, bringing her veterinary practice with her. She has spent the last 18 years running away from the memory of her best friend's tragic death and the boy, Jeff Bradford, she blames for it. Well, the boy is now a man and her father's doctor, so she can't avoid him. Forced to confront her past, she dives right in and purchases her friend's old house, then tries to find the truth about the accident. With old friends happy to see her, she starts to realize her memory of that terrible time in high school is skewed, and she needs to truly forgive Jeff, and herself. The house itself seems to be guiding her with supernatural occurrences. Ultimately, Claire's charming romance disproves the adage that you can't go home again. Patty Engelmann
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