Author: Kat Martin
ISBN: 978-1-59315-547-6
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Publication Date: October 2009

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 I have never been faced with a life threatening disease, but novelist, Kat Martin's new book, The Christmas Clock, made me wonder what decisions I would make or if I could be as selfless as Sylvia Winter's. When Sylvia's life was turned upside down with a terrible diagnosis, she felt she was doing the right thing by breaking it off with her fiancé and moving away. What she didn't realize, is the hurt she left behind would reshape the lives of those she loved the most in a negative way.

 Sylvia left her fiancé a week before their wedding, saying she didn't love him. Joe Dixon was confused, hurt and angry, and found solace in a bottle. Shortly after Sylvia's departure, Joe was involved in a barroom brawl that accidentally left the other man dead. Joe went to prison for three years. He was getting his life together and becoming quite successful, when Sylvia returned to town eight years later.

Joe befriends eight year old, Teddy, a boy who has nobody in the world but his grandmother. He has no father and his mother is dead. Teddy's grandmother is quickly deteriorating from Alzheimer's. Walking with his grandmother, Teddy notices her longing for a Christmas clock in the window of a local antique store. Joe hires the little boy to help clean up around the garage he has part ownership in, so that Teddy can buy his grandmother that special clock for Christmas. When Teddy's grandmother can no longer care for him, things get complicated. The bond between Joe and Teddy, the failing health of Teddy's grandmother, Sylvia's return and the complications created by her departure years earlier, make this a heartwarming read for the holiday season.

The Christmas Clock is filled with people who grew apart and came together again. Sylvia's landlady and husband live a mentally separate existence. Ms. Martin shows us the goodness and vulnerability of friends, family and even strangers. They say you can never go home again, but Ms. Martin shows us you can.

The short prologue at the beginning of the book is narrated by a young man, 14 years after the actual story. The epilogue at the end of the book is narrated by the same young man, who gives thanks for the miracle of the Christmas season that fulfilled joy, celebration and prayers.

If your are longing for a heartwarming holiday story for the upcoming season, you will not be disappointed with The Christmas Clock, by Kat Martin. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I can envision myself curled up in a favorite chair, on a snowy day, reading it again. Complete your Christmas shopping by purchasing The Christmas Clock for everyone on your list.