'Tis the Season!

Lorna Landvik

Caroline Dixon is the current society bad girl. The more she drinks the more trouble she causes. She's an heiress with no job and lots of money. The "Here's Buzz" column in a tabloid delights in following her antics and reporting on her latest faux pas. Caro is always good for a story when gossip is slow.

Astrid Brevald lives alone on an island off the Norwegian coast. Once she was Caro's nanny. Now she works as a freelance book editor who rarely leaves her island. Cyril Dale owns a camp/ranch for summer camps. Caro went to his and his wife's summer camp the summer her father died. Now he is a widower.

Caro decides to go to rehab to kick the alcohol. Part of her program is to apologize to people she's wronged in the past. Only two respond to her - Astrid and Cyril. They start an ongoing e-mail conversation, reassuring Carol that she is a strong woman who they also liked as a child. Their conversations continue on into December as Caro becomes more confident in herself and continues her rehab.

'Tis the Season is a short novel written in the format of e-mails and letters. It's enjoyable and uplifting. "Here's Buzz" is a continuing presence throughout the story, constantly deriding Caro and her movements. Fortunately she has Cyril and Astrid to help her work through her rehab period.

Lorna Landvik writes novels dealing with serious subjects. Yet she adds her light, uplifting touch and the serious topics hit but don't devastate. 'Tis the Season deals with alcoholism, split families, and paparazzi. Yet this Christmas season book is warm and inviting. Caro had a difficult childhood with a half-sister and parents who were too busy to give her much attention. When her father died she inherited his wealth and was sent to boarding school. Her issues are understandable. Even so, she finally pulls herself together to start to become the person she can be.

'Tis the Season is more than Caro's story. It also touches on both Cyril and Astrid. The reader learns of their pasts after Caro had been in their lives. Cyril's wife died a few years earlier. Astrid has isolated herself after tragedies in her life. Caro helps both of them take the next steps in their lives.

Landvik's books have so much twisted in each of them. 'Tis the Season is less so because of its length. Yet it is a good read and keeps to the spirit of the Christmas season.