Cori’s Pick: Mrs Saint and the Defectives by Julie Lawson Timmer

Quirky, humorous and heartfelt, Julie Lawson Timmer’s newest book had me at ‘Defectives’.

After a very public (and humiliating) divorce, Markie and her teenage son Jesse run for the hills, leaving behind everyone they knew from their private school and country club past.  Looking forward to satisfying her inner desire to be a hermit and to simply be left alone, Markie soon learns that her new neighbor, Mrs. Saint, and her clan of ‘defectives’ have no intentions of giving her privacy.  The bossy and opinionated Mrs. Saint, has no problem stepping in and letting Markie know what she and her son need or when they need to do it, however Markie soon learns that Mrs. Saint seems to have secrets of her own that may explain her fondness for helping misfits and outcasts.  While Markie tries to figure out how Mrs. Saint always knows just when a hot meal, new pet, or home repair is needed, she begins to realize how interdependence may just be the answer to her new chapter in life…but is she a ‘defective’ herself???

I love how Timmer weaves thoughtfulness and humor into this story and makes you realize that each of us (defective or not) has a support system and a place within in.  This is the first book I have read by Julie Lawson Timmer, but I certainly plan on adding her other two novels, Five Days Left and Untethered to my ‘to-read’ list.