Wish You Well by David Baldacci

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Wish You Well, by David Baldacci. 2000. NY. Warner Books. 400 pp.

Reviewed by Diana Fields

Author David Baldacci, best known for his suspense thrillers, has taken a different course in the writing of Wish You Well. Drawing on oral histories told to him by his grandmother and his mother, of his ancestral home in southwestern Virginia, Mr. Baldacci has written an emotional family drama set in the 1940's, where the struggle to survive in the Appalachian Mountains is a daily way of life.

At the opening of the story, the Cardinal family is living in New York City. The father, Jack Cardinal, has been offered a new career, in California, writing for the movies. His wife, Amanda, is unsure of the move and tries to persuade her husband to return to his roots in rural Virginia. The debate ends quickly with a terrible automobile crash that leaves the broken family no other choice but to go to Virginia.

The characters are endearing and the visual descriptions are vivid. The story moves along at a good pace with plenty of drama. The only downside to the story is that the ending is somewhat predictable. Overall a good entertaining read.