Book Review of "The Mulberry Tree" by Jude Deveraux

I really liked "The Mulberry Tree" by Jude Deveraux, but it wasn't what I was expecting. Usually when I see Ms. Deveraux's name on a book I know to expect romance with paranormal themes running through out it. There is nothing paranormal or supernatural in this book. "The Mulberry Tree" best fits in the category of the romance suspense. The beginning of "The Mulberry Tree" is what most books would have as an ending, so already there is the first surprise.

On page one we find out that the main character, Lillian Manville has just become a widow when Jimmie, her beloved husband, dies in a plane crash. While Lillian is reeling from the news, she finds out that her multi-billionaire husband, who loved her, has pretty much cut her out of his will. Lillian sums up Jimmie's view of money pretty good on page three "The money never mattered to Jimmie. No one understood that. To him, it was just a by-product of the game." This by the way is your first clue as to why the grieving widow was left with nothing but, a "run-down, overgrown farm in the backwoods of Virginia, a place I didn't even know he owned..." and $50,000. Oh, and a brief note asking her to find out the truth. Jimmie doesn't give her a clue what truth she is to figure out. This I didn't get. Why didn't Jimmie just write "Find the truth about X." I'm telling you anymore, because then can discover with Lillian what truth she is seeking. It's more fun that way.

Atlanta and Ray, Jimmie's brother and sister and only living relatives other than his wife, are the only ones left anything in Jimmie Manville's will. This is a complete shock to his widow, who knows that her late husband hated them both with a passion. The only things Lillian was allowed to take from her home was her clothes and even Jimmie's lawyer thought Atlanta may have a problem with that because Atlanta was the same size as Lillian. If you haven't figured it out let me tell you flat out that Atlanta and Ray are mean and greedy; a really bad combination.

To protect her from the press, Lillian changes her name to Bailey James and hides out until she is taken to Virginia by Phillip, her husband's lawyer. While hiding Lillian further changes herself by morphing her image from a plump pampered housewife, who stays in the background in deference to her husband into a whole new person by losing weight, changing her clothing style and gets herself an attitude and a backbone. I enjoyed reading Lillian's transformation process and enjoying learning, who she really was along with the new Bailey. I must say I like Bailey much better than Lillian. I forgot to mention that Lillian doesn't challenge the will, because she married without her mother's permission when she was seventeen, so she knows even though she considered herself married to Jimmie for 16 years, she wasn't legally married to him.

There are several mysteries to solve in "The Mulberry Tree." The one that intrigued me the most was why was Lillian booted out of her house and left with a farm in Virginia that came with a farmhouse that was in serious need of renovation and a barn in slightly better shape. What did she do or didn't do to cause this? And of all the places in the world Jimmie could have bought Lillian why this farm? Then we find out that Jimmie's plane was sabotaged by some unknown person or persons. I just realized I can't tell you anymore of the mysteries involved without giving away too much of the book. So go get the book already, you will be glad you did.

I just realized that told you about a lot of the suspense side of the novel, but I left out the romance. Let me fix that now. Bailey decides to fix up the farmhouse and start her own business of making gourmet jams and pickles; it turns out that she is an excellent gourmet cook. Matt Longacre, a local single contractor, comes into the picture by bartering with Bailey. He is living with his brother's family and wants to escape his sister-in-law's cooking and his teenage nephews. When Matt arrives at Bailey's place she is cooking and wants a taste tester for her apple jam with ginger. She invites him to eat with her as they discuss the remodeling that will be needed. Matt's taste buds are in heaven, so he makes a proposition: he will repair the farmhouse on the weekends and only charge for the materials and he will pay her room and board. Sounds like a win-win situation for Bailey doesn't it? I just realized that I've written quite a bit and I need to stop before I write too much. As I said before go get the book already, you will be glad you did.

Bottom line: I highly recommend this book.

Other Book Reviews by Genie Walker:

"The Husband" by Dean Koontz

"The Remains of the Dead" by Wendy Roberts

"Sam's Letters to Jennifer" by James Patterson