Limelight by Melody Carlson

The story line is somewhat familiar. The older woman has had a pampered life with cooks and maids and plenty of money. But now her famous husband has died and the Beverly Hills home has been sold for unpaid taxes. All she has left is a few household possessions and a bungalow she inherited from her mother. And the bungalow is in the hometown she was so anxious to leave.
Claudette’s gay stepson flies in to help her move. He arranges a great deal with movers and painters but then returns to Hawaii and his partner. Can Claudette survive? She doesn’t know how to shop, how to clean house, or how to do laundry. She has never had to live on a budget. She doesn’t even know how to be a decent neighbor. She certainly doesn’t want to accept help from anyone, especially her sister. Nonetheless, kind and helpful people, many of whom are Christians, intrude in her life with humorous results.
As Claudette faces her own needs she must also face secrets from her childhood.
Carlson’s book gets off to a slow start. The real action does not get going until Claudette is left to herself and tries to make a go of it, about page 200. But from then on, the action is quick and the laughs frequent. If you persevere through the slow beginning the story is well worth reading. I would recommend it to elderly female readers. There is a reader’s guide at the end of the book which would make it suitable for reading group.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
Product information: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400070824