When the Sun Goes Down

August 23, 2010
After Maryland millionaire Leon Farrell dies in Forster's absorbing sequel to 2004's If You Walked in My Shoes, his adult children—Gunther, a software game developer who's suffering from a bad strain of the flu; Shirley, a cruise line PR director; and Edgar, a guitarist with a gambling addiction—learn that Leon hid his will. Together they hire a PI to find the will, and Frieda Davis, a licensed practical nurse and one of the most compelling characters from Forster's previous tale, to care for Gunther. Frieda has tracked down her birth mother, Coreen Treadwell, whom she blames for the suffering she endured at the hands of her adoptive father. Intent on revenge until learning that Coreen is severely ill, Frieda chooses peace over vengeance, volunteering to donate the bone marrow her mother needs. Meanwhile, romance blooms between Shirley and the investigator, and between Frieda and Gunther, while Edgar schemes to get his portion of the inheritance before everyone else. This absorbing soaper works fine as a standalone, but readers familiar with the first installment will appreciate it most.