Her Last Affair

When kindly retired nurse Skyla Hull finds divorced Englishman Teddy Cornwell as a tenant for the identical house her late husband built next to their upstate New York home—long story—the two click. Skyla, who is almost blind from macular degeneration, gets a welcome companion in Teddy, and soon he’s encouraging her to explore unresolved issues in her past. At the same time, we look at other relationships in the past and present: teens Linelle and Teddy meet and fall for each other while sneaking cigarette breaks from their jobs as Disney World characters; later, Linelle is married to Marcus and we find her taking a photo, one that certainly wouldn’t be allowed at Disney, to send to her man on the side. A “one that got away” romance also features, with the couple now years older and wondering “what if?”. When the various loaded pasts and presents come together, what is at first a character-driven plot takes a suspenseful and violent turn and readers will move from cringing at what the characters do for love to fretting over who will get out alive. With much of the action taking place in the shadow of a defunct drive-in theater, the Stephen King vibes are strong here, but so is the Fannie Flagg. An unusual and satisfying tale.