Book Review: "Sam's Letters to Jennifer" by James Patterson

New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2004. Hardback is 263 pages.

When I saw this book on the shelf, the title brought forth the image of a soldier writing his sweetheart. Then I saw that James Patterson was the author that immediately shifted my thinking about maybe the letters were a clue in a murder investigation because Patterson has two different series going with police officers as the main character (Alex Cross in Washington, DC and Lindsay Boxer in San Francisco). I didn't read the back of book for the blurb because James Patterson is a good writer so I knew the book would be worth taking home. I was right about the book being good, but both of my guesses about the synopsis were wrong. Way wrong!

"Sam's Letters to Jennifer" is a huge departure from his other books. It isn't a murder mystery or thriller, but instead it is a story about romance and about a loving relationship between a granddaughter, Jennifer, and her grandmother, Sam Stanford. It is a tear jerker, so if you cry easy be forewarned to have a box of facial tissues handy.

The main character is Jennifer, a widow who is a newspaper columnist living in Chicago. The novel starts with Jennifer getting a call from her grandmother's minister tell her that Sam has fallen and is now in the hospital in a coma. Jennifer rushes off to Lake Geneva, the resort community where Sam lives. She stays at Sam's house where she discovers a stack of letters in her room, addressed to her from her grandmother. In them, Sam tells her life story, one that up to that point she had refused to share with Jennifer. There are many surprises in those letters. I'm not going to share much of Sam's story with you. Read the book for your self to learn more about the amazing woman.

Now for the romance side of "Sam's Letters to Jennifer." From Sam's letters we learn about her relationship with Jennifer's grandfather and we learn of another relationship in Sam's life. I'm sorry, but that's all I'm going to say about it. Jennifer's relationship with Danny her husband is brought up throughout the story. Visiting Sam in the hospital is bringing up old memories of her late husband. While in Lake Geneva, Jennifer runs into a childhood friend, Brennan Keller. Since I've already told you this is a romance story you probably already guess she falls in love with him.

I loved how James Patterson has mixed Sam's and Jennifer's story together. I really liked Sam's letters and would have like to have more of them shared with the reader. Wouldn't it be nice if more of our grandparents shared their life stories with us? So much of their life is a mystery and we tend to think of them as instant old people. Somehow they were never young people, who made mistakes and just did the best they could.

Bottom line: I recommend "Sam's Letters to Jennifer" by James Patterson. It is a sentimental novel that is well written (be sure to have facial tissues handy).

Other Book Reviews by Genie Walker:
Nonfiction:
"How to Retire Happy" by Stan Hinden
"More Than Enough: The 10 Keys to Changing Your Financial Destiny" by Dave Ramsey

Fiction:
"At First Sight" by Nicholas Sparks
"Blow Out" by Catherine Coulter
"The Husband" by Dean Koontz
"The Remains of the Dead" by Wendy Roberts