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Accidental Lives
Accidental Lives weaves together the lives of two strangers. Cole is a young man paralyzed in a motorcycle accident when a ninety-year old driver turns in front of him. Lou is an older attorney retained to represent Cole who was emotionally paralyzed as a young man when he lost his true love in a different but equally tragic moment. The stories jump back and forth in time between the present and the past as each of them tries to understand what brought them here. Both lives have been dramatically changed by unforeseeable events that make the lives they lead now Accidental Lives.
279 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 20, 2020
16 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
Howard R. Reiss
18 books84 followersan ordinary life is Howard’s twelfth novel.
Pyramid on the Hudson, Howard’s eleventh novel, takes place when a 170-year-old corpse turns up at the site of the new mall being built in Nyack, NY. The police chief’s lucid dreams take him back to Nyack in 1855. While he can’t stop the murder, he does try to find a way to stop the mall.
Starlight Shines Far, Howard’s tenth novel, is a story about healing . . . healing the Earth, as well as healing a broken heart.
The '60s Diary, Howard Reiss' ninth novel, will send you on a journey through time from Rose's first love to her time at Woodstock...from self-discovery and happiness to tragedy and rebirth.
Accidental Lives, Howard Reiss’ eighth novel, tells the story of two lives dramatically changed by coincidences of time and place.
A Lover’s Secret, Howard’s seventh novel. It was inspired by three very different thoughts . . . the mental illnesses that often went undiagnosed and untreated back in the middle of the twentieth century, especially among children . . . how time moved so slow when we were young and seems to speed up as we age . . . and how the internet (and Facebook) sometimes changes our relationship with the past. Readers’ Favorite calls this a “very engrossing” “unique romance.”
The Texture of Love, Howard’s sixth novel, was inspired by his love of Nabokov. On the 50th anniversary of Lolita, he decided to reverse the story and have a younger woman become obsessed with an older man.
The Old Drive-In, Howard’s fifth novel, is a nostalgic reflection on what could have been. If we can’t really go home again, can we discover something everlasting if we try? Readers' Favorite wishes they could give this book "more than 5 stars." IndieReader says this novel has "richly defined characters and weaves in themes of regret and nostalgia throughout this nuanced romance."
P Town, Howard’s fourth novel, was inspired by a lifetime of visits to Provincetown, a magical town at the tip of Cape Cod. The mix of people, the art, the street music, and the color make it a great place to hide in plain sight. P Town is a multiple award winner; winning the Silver Medal in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Awards in the Contemporary Romance category, as well as the 2016 Los Angeles Book Festival in the Spiritual category. IndieReader says P Town is “beautifully written from beginning to end” and Readers’ Favorite calls it an “unforgettable read.”
The Laws of Attraction, Howard’s third novel is an insightful and quirky legal thriller about a courtroom battle over the estate of the elderly patriarch who leaves everything to his young wife who claims to be the reincarnate of his first wife. It leads to a rather unusual and somewhat comical trial to determine whether or not there is life after death. This novel is a Readers’ Favorite 5 star “guilty reading pleasure.”
Howard’s second novel, The Year of Soup was inspired by a dinner at a small restaurant in Northampton, Mass. when an old professorial looking gentlemen with a bottle of wine in a paper bag sat down at a table in the corner and was immediately joined by the young, female proprietor and chef. Although he couldn’t hear their conversation, he tried to imagine it, and their stories as well. This novel received the Silver Medal for Best Fiction in the North-East Region at the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2013.
Howard’s first novel, A Family Institution, published in 2011, was based on a true incident involving the discovery of an aunt hidden from the family who spent most of her life in Pilgrim State Hospital. The main character’s quest for the truth about what happened takes him to Pilgrim State where he takes a job in the records department, learns a lot about how the mentally ill and, in particular, his aunt was treated in the 1950s, and in the process turns his life and family upside down. It’s a serious subject approached with a strong comic touch and has been a growing favorite of book clubs around t
Pyramid on the Hudson, Howard’s eleventh novel, takes place when a 170-year-old corpse turns up at the site of the new mall being built in Nyack, NY. The police chief’s lucid dreams take him back to Nyack in 1855. While he can’t stop the murder, he does try to find a way to stop the mall.
Starlight Shines Far, Howard’s tenth novel, is a story about healing . . . healing the Earth, as well as healing a broken heart.
The '60s Diary, Howard Reiss' ninth novel, will send you on a journey through time from Rose's first love to her time at Woodstock...from self-discovery and happiness to tragedy and rebirth.
Accidental Lives, Howard Reiss’ eighth novel, tells the story of two lives dramatically changed by coincidences of time and place.
A Lover’s Secret, Howard’s seventh novel. It was inspired by three very different thoughts . . . the mental illnesses that often went undiagnosed and untreated back in the middle of the twentieth century, especially among children . . . how time moved so slow when we were young and seems to speed up as we age . . . and how the internet (and Facebook) sometimes changes our relationship with the past. Readers’ Favorite calls this a “very engrossing” “unique romance.”
The Texture of Love, Howard’s sixth novel, was inspired by his love of Nabokov. On the 50th anniversary of Lolita, he decided to reverse the story and have a younger woman become obsessed with an older man.
The Old Drive-In, Howard’s fifth novel, is a nostalgic reflection on what could have been. If we can’t really go home again, can we discover something everlasting if we try? Readers' Favorite wishes they could give this book "more than 5 stars." IndieReader says this novel has "richly defined characters and weaves in themes of regret and nostalgia throughout this nuanced romance."
P Town, Howard’s fourth novel, was inspired by a lifetime of visits to Provincetown, a magical town at the tip of Cape Cod. The mix of people, the art, the street music, and the color make it a great place to hide in plain sight. P Town is a multiple award winner; winning the Silver Medal in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Awards in the Contemporary Romance category, as well as the 2016 Los Angeles Book Festival in the Spiritual category. IndieReader says P Town is “beautifully written from beginning to end” and Readers’ Favorite calls it an “unforgettable read.”
The Laws of Attraction, Howard’s third novel is an insightful and quirky legal thriller about a courtroom battle over the estate of the elderly patriarch who leaves everything to his young wife who claims to be the reincarnate of his first wife. It leads to a rather unusual and somewhat comical trial to determine whether or not there is life after death. This novel is a Readers’ Favorite 5 star “guilty reading pleasure.”
Howard’s second novel, The Year of Soup was inspired by a dinner at a small restaurant in Northampton, Mass. when an old professorial looking gentlemen with a bottle of wine in a paper bag sat down at a table in the corner and was immediately joined by the young, female proprietor and chef. Although he couldn’t hear their conversation, he tried to imagine it, and their stories as well. This novel received the Silver Medal for Best Fiction in the North-East Region at the Independent Publisher Book Awards in 2013.
Howard’s first novel, A Family Institution, published in 2011, was based on a true incident involving the discovery of an aunt hidden from the family who spent most of her life in Pilgrim State Hospital. The main character’s quest for the truth about what happened takes him to Pilgrim State where he takes a job in the records department, learns a lot about how the mentally ill and, in particular, his aunt was treated in the 1950s, and in the process turns his life and family upside down. It’s a serious subject approached with a strong comic touch and has been a growing favorite of book clubs around t
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 24, 2021
I stumbled across Mr. Howard Reiss though one of the e-book promotional emails. I decided to read Accidental lives as the book summary looked interesting. In addition, the book was also part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription. I am glad I did it. The book is about 440 pages and I read it in 24 hours as I simply could not put it down. The book alternates 2 narrators (who are brought together as described in the summary) which can be a bit tricky. There is very little repetition and no fluff or page fillers. While the topic of the book is gloomy, experiencing life can be trying and challenging for many of us. The experiences the characters go through are experienced by any number of people in the world today. The way the author brings it out is simply wonderful. I was engrossed by the way the characters question their past, seemingly benign events, its cause and effect with philosophical musings such as God, existentialism, nihilism etc. (which I do almost everyday) The author is extremely talented. I am surprised and disappointed that I do not see his book in lists such as NYT best sellers. I am going to read all the other books written by Mr. Reiss and would strongly recommend this book to my friends.
March 6, 2021
My First
This was my first book written by Howard Reiss. The storyline started off really interesting to me. But as I continued it just got so long winded. It was nice to have this opportunity to read the book. Thanks
This was my first book written by Howard Reiss. The storyline started off really interesting to me. But as I continued it just got so long winded. It was nice to have this opportunity to read the book. Thanks
December 18, 2020
I truly enjoyed this captivating, character-driven novel by one of my favorite authors.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews