Sunbreaks

by Greg Messel

Tom is a middle-aged man who works in downtown Portland, Oregon. His wife is killed suddenly when her car is hit by a drunk driver. Tom goes into a period of isolation for almost two years; his life sinks into a time of grayness and gloom. Then, a bright light named Erika comes into his life. She is a dazzling young woman who he meets, quite by accident, at the coffee shop which he frequents each morning. Tom and Erika have an instant connection. They formulate a plan to become companions and to begin enjoying all of their interests again but as platonic friends. They are both tired of being alone but do not want to play all of the dating games. As the year progresses, Tom and Erika become more and more comfortable with each other thanks to a series of unexpected crisis that ensue. Tom is falling more deeply in love with Erika each day. Erika continues to take it slow and wants to be just friends. Tom keeps his love for her a secret as he patiently waits for Erika to want more from their relationship.

300 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2009

About the author

Greg Messel has spent most of his adult life interested in writing, including a career in the newspaper business as a reporter, a columnist and news editor. He won a Wyoming Press Association Award as a columnist and has contributed articles to various magazines. Greg lives in Edmonds, Washington on Puget Sound with his wife Jean DeFond.
Greg has written eleven novels. His latest "Dreams That Never Were: is a historical fiction political thriller about the events surrounding the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Greg has also written a mystery series set in 1959 San Francisco including "San Francisco Nights," "Shadows In The Fog," "Fog City Strangler," "San Francisco Secrets," "Deadly Plunge" and "Last of the Seals." His other three novels are "Sunbreaks," "Expiation" and "The Illusion of Certainty." For a more detailed summary of Greg's novels go to www.gregmessel.com
Greg is currently working on his eleventh novel "Dreams That Never Were" which is not part of the mystery series. .

Reviews

[Annemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I almost felt like I could relate to some of the characters and I loved some of the detail that was put into describing the people and places. I also loved some of the ideas that came from the author. I'd never head that men were like bananas. That was a new one. Haha...
(Okay, spoiler alert!) I do have to say that I felt a little frustrated at the end. I confess that I am all about the sappy, cheesy endings and know that this is probably how reality would be, but was still surprised by how the author chose to end this story. I felt frustrated for Tom, and for me having read this whole book about how much he cared about Ericka just to have it all end. But looking past that, I still was engrossed in the book and am recommending it to some friends.

[Rachel Messel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This love story was an endearing read. If you have ever been to Portland, Oregon and fallen in love with the city--this book immerses you in those memories. It only give subtle hints that it is written 'reflectively' and it all wraps up with a "sunbreak" in the last couple of pages.