The fourth (and final) book in this series will release in the fall of 2011. And they each have their own distinct personality. Any of these women could be someone you know. Carlson is a prolific writer, and her characters are very well developed. I enjoyed reading more about the Lindas in ALL FOR ONE, but some of the events in the book saddened me. Carlson’s The Four Lindas series, and I recommend reading them in order as they all are closely tied together. Marley has some issues with her grown son. Janie’s boyfriend’s ex-wife is trying to win Victor back, and Janie wonders if she’ll have to find a new relationship with someone else. Caroline’s mother has Alzheimer’s and she’s weary of caring for her, but doesn’t want to put her in a nursing home. Their friendship has survived, but they all have different challenges.Ībby’s husband has had a bad heart attack, and now Abby is afraid to sleep in case he has another one. Now, years later, the Lindas are all grown up, and all living in the same town. They became friends, and went by their middle names in order to avoid confusion.

Many years ago, four little girls named Linda met in the same first grade class. If you'd like to check out one of Melody Carlson's other books, I would recommend The Christmas Cat. This book just couldn't seem to grab a hold of me enough that I want to pick up the other three books in the series. I really couldn't connect with any of the characters and having not read the other books in the series, I felt a bit lost more than once. Sadly, this book was just kind of 'meh' for me.

Also, the synopsis on this book isn't exactly the story that's inside the pages of the book and that always leaves me feeling misled by the author. More than once I had the very strong impression that I should know more than I did about a character or about something that had happened.

This was book three in a four book series and the author didn't send me any of the other books so I assumed it could stand alone. The relationships between the characters seemed very real and thought out. This story had just enough 'what's next' to keep me reading. After all, it makes it easier to downsize if I know if I actually like something or not! This book was sent to me ages ago by the author along with some of her other books after I won a contest that she was doing. One of my goals is to start reading through my physical book to be read pile alongside my official review books.

The christmas cat melody carlson