One Part Angel - Hardcover

Shaffner, George

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 156512457X ISBN 13: 9781565124578

Publisher: Algonquin Books, 2006

Synopsis

This big-hearted novel about small-town miracles is the entertaining follow-up to Shaffner’s popular debut, In the Land of Second Chances.

Welcome to Ebb, Nebraska—home of the Corn Palace, the Quilting Circle, the Come Again Bed and Breakfast, and Wilma Porter and her indomitable gang of friends. Loretta Parsons, Wilma’s best friend and the owner of the Bold Cut Beauty Salon, called the town “the Last Oasis of Nice.”And it is.

But Ebb also has more than its share of troubles. Loretta is in a coma and her salon is burned to the ground. Wilma’s grandson, Matt, is in the county jail awaiting sentencing for arson and attempted murder. Clem Tucker, the richest man in town, is cooking up a business deal that could have dire consequences for everyone. Even the powerful Quilting Circle, which includes almost every woman in Ebb, is at its wit’s end.

Wilma’s prayers for help are answered when the mysterious traveling salesman Mr.Vernon Moore returns to save the day . . . and a life or two while he’s at it.

About this title

About the Author

GEORGE SHAFFNER is the author of In the Land of Second Chances and One Part Angel. He lives in Sammamish, Washington.

Reviews

Adult/High School–Wilma Porter runs a bed-and-breakfast in Ebb, NE, and thinks she has her finger on the pulse of the town. When her grandson and two unidentified high-school friends beat the black owner of the beauty parlor into a coma, Wilma and the rest of the citizenry are stunned out of their small-town complacency. Enter Vernon Moore, a mysterious traveling salesman who made his debut in Shaffners In the Land of Second Chances (Algonquin, 2004). Mr. Moore has a gift for seeing problems from a different perspective, and the townspeople quickly realize that they need a dose of his quirky wisdom. While he may be one part angel, as several seeming miracles would indicate, hes plenty human: last time he came through town, he fathered a daughter with the now-comatose Loretta. He therefore has a vested interest in trying to persuade Matt to name his accomplices. This is a story in the tradition of Jan Karons Mitford series (Viking), albeit with a zanier cast of characters. From wealthy financier Clem Tucker to the sinister Reverend Gault of the Divine Temple of the Everlasting God Almighty to Dot Hrnicek, Ebbs first female sheriff, there is no shortage of eccentricities. Shaffners character sketches, along with Wilmas chatty narrative style, keep Mr. Moore from seeming too didactic as he points the townsfolk toward solutions for their various problems. Teens will appreciate the unorthodox approach that he takes in building a relationship with Matt, as well as the glimpse into the stories underneath the wholesome small-town veneer.–Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Vernon Moore, the mysterious salesman who upended everyone's lives in the quaint town of Ebb, Nebr., in Shaffner's first novel (In the Land of Second Chances) returns to save the day in this enchanting sequel. Once again, feisty Wilma Porter, owner of Come Again Bed & Breakfast, narrates an improbable tale full of miracles, humor, tragedy and a strong dose of religion and morality. Vernon finds all not well in Ebb: Wilma's grandson, Matthew, is in the county jail, refusing to name the two accomplices who destroyed the local hair salon and bludgeoned owner Loretta Parsons into a coma. Loretta happens to be Wilma's best friend, the town's only resident of color and, not incidentally, the mother of Vernon's out-of-wedlock child. Meanwhile, Wilma's "Fiancé in Perpetuity," wealthy business entrepreneur Clem Tucker, is raising eyebrows around town with the parceling and sale of his inherited farm. Vernon's interactions with the recalcitrant Matt shine; his confrontation with the menacing founders of a local religious sect is both chilling and gratifying; and his "win-win" impact on the financial future of the town comes as no surprise. Ebb's warm-and-fuzzyness is well realized, and readers will keep reading in the hope of learning who Vernon really is. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

He's baa-aack! Ebb, Nebraska's favorite erstwhile visitor, the charismatic Mr. Vernon Moore, makes a return appearance just in the nick of time. Wilma Potter, proprietor of the Come Again B&B, has her hands full, what with her best friend, Loretta, lying in a coma, the victim of a brutal attack by three assailants, one of whom is Wilma's grandson, Matt. Facing 150 years in prison unless he names his accomplices, Matt is being frustratingly tight-lipped, but Moore has a plan to break Matt's silence, a feat he accomplishes while simultaneously bringing Loretta back from the brink of death not once, but twice, and brokering behind-the-scenes business deals that impact the town's very lifeblood. Moore is a man who works in mysterious ways, as befits someone whom the townsfolk have long suspected of being not quite of this world. Quietly inspirational, quirkily humorous, Shaffner's feel-good sequel to In the Land of Second Chances (2004) firmly launches what promises to be an uproarious and uplifting series. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 156512457X
• ISBN 13: 9781565124578
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384