LIFE IN A BOX

Two families that will intertwine within this multiple plotted novel as the Brown’s and Smith’s life’s will come alive to readers and you will help unravel the secrets that both families would rather leave hidden. Skeletons might be the bones beneath our skin but some come out haunting us as they travel upward from a grace and reveal realities that some would rather have withered away and rotted. Life in A Box is a unique story centered on the Smiths and Browns and a secret that VJ Smith would reveal when ready. Andee, her daughter faced health issues and must not be stressed as she receives a box from her mother, VJ, Victoria Jeanne smith, with letters, journals and revelations that she wanted her to learn about and her life would now turn in a different direction upon reading what her mother had delivered.

VJ and her brother Ben spend some time together and are left on an island, having dinner when someone else turns up so why are they found dead the next day and what are the circumstances that surround the deaths of VJ, Ben and what about Will her husband? Things spiral out of control when the police realize that there is more to the deaths of the twins then meets the eye. Was this murder, assisted suicide or what? The events present themselves and the police Captain is going to search, hunt and investigate and question Andee, Scott her husband and Will Brown when he is conscious to learn why these two twins died and you won’t believe what they ingested in drugs and alcohol.

The story takes a different turn at part one ends with the family of VJ and Ben trying to piece together what happened and why both twins suddenly died. Did they decide and have a pact? Was there something wrong with one or both of them as the author takes us back in time to where the Smith’s began as we open the box and read about her mother’s life beginning with Catherine, VJ’s mother and we learn more about the Smith family’s legacy.

THE SMITHS:

Catherine Connor a brazen teenager filed charges against a man old enough to be her father for backing out on marrying her. 85000 dollars later and the suitcase with her fortune this was just the beginning for Catherine. Meeting Fulton smith and getting his full attention marriage cane fast and little Muriel now had a father. But two more VJ and Ben twins and her life seemed complete but Catherine always wanted more. Children that towed the mark and family events planned orchestrated and controlled VJ and Ben knew better then to disrespect their parents. Religious programs that interested her and friends that would guide her and her family in one direction Catherine always wanted more and Helen her friend would help her get the home she wanted and more. Muriel was diagnosed with arthritis and we learn the first treatments and a child’s reaction. The events tell about the smith family but not before we remind readers that Andrew is telling the story as she writes her novel despite Jackson Barton baron making an appearance hoping for part of VJ’s inheritance and demanded her pink box to write her story.

The past continues as Muriel and fiend Donnie are learning about horses but her arthritis does begin hindering her. Mistakes are not accepted and new surroundings for her family, as Catherine always wanted more. Vj’s mistakes are noted and consequences given as part two is about to draw to a dramatic close.

THE BROWNS:

When Sonny Brown and Muriel Smith become a family their lives and their families become embroiled in each others  wants and needs.

Victoria and Will Brown meet and Catherine and Fulton make another wedding but in a unique and different setting as both Ben and will enlist and things get harder for both families and Andersen learns the secrets hidden within the pink box. What did her mother want her to learn? How would the past intertwine in the present?

Some stories are told from the endings before we learn the truth that comes in between. When Andee finds a shadowbox with a letter within it she learns a harsh reality that will change the dynamics of her family and bring someone into the fold that they would rather not have there at all. Lies, betrayals and one act that would change the course of events for Andee and her family as Veronica’s words come back to haunt them one at a time. VJ and her twin brother Ben have always been close and added in we have several other friends and family members as Andee takes her words and puts them on the printed pages but some events will startle readers, provide twists that the author set up in perfect precision as the author draws it all together in an ending that will expose VJ and a non-fiction book that Andee pens as a book reviewer I wonder what rating should be give her own work and if she would want others to read it. Society and the mores of the times are different from now and events that compromise young girls as not accepted when blame is attached. Girls wanting jobs and careers while expected to become wives and parents and the intersection of two families includes their joys, sadness, hardships and love.

The final words created in different letters to each of the characters one from VJ to her family explaining her reasons for not revealing the harsh truths and secrets she wanted to spare her children from learning. One from Will to VJ letting her know he would always love her but something at the end will surprise readers. Author Jodee Neathery creates an ending that allows each character to express his/her true feelings to the one person he/she feels needs to understand their undying devotion and love. From Jackson to Muriel, Flynn to her father, Andee to Scotty and Scotty to Andee the heartaches faced are now unraveled and unveiled as the author takes the pink box and places all of the pieces within the box that have come out and allows Andee to complete the story that might change or rock many worlds as she takes the lid, replaces it and sets it firmly on the top as the story ends and we learn the meaning of what she learned from the contents of VJ’s LIFE IN A BOX. Take the pieces of a puzzle that are in disarray and take the pieces of each part of this story and rearrange them in order and the picture you see along with the faces that are attached will create what the author has penned a heartfelt, heartbreaking, and at times joyous story about one woman’s LIFE WITHIN A PINK BOX!

Take a chance, open the box and learn the secrets for yourself.
Fran Lewis: Just reviews/MJ magazine/MJ network