In "Something About Sophie" the main character Sophie, has known since she was a child that she was adopted.

Sophie though had loving adopted parents and never tried to find her biological parents. However, one day Sophie is contacted by a man (Arthur) who claims to know who her real birth mother is and has something important to tell her. Sophie upon arriving finds that Arthur is dead and there are plenty of people who want her gone.

Due to being left Arthur's home in his will, Sophie stays and meets Drew, who was Arthur's doctor. Sophie finds herself falling for Drew and traveling to unravel her and her birth mother's past.

Mary Kay McComas can definitely write. The novel flows together very well. I did like the character of Sophie though at times I found her actions and reactions to be a bit unbelievable at times.

I just had one issue with this novel and that is that it is not really a mystery novel. It really should be marketed as a romance novel. And no I do not have a problem with romance novels and do enjoy reading them. However, I don't know if I would have picked this novel to read if I had known that it would really be a romance novel in disguise.

I would this novel to romance readers and other people who enjoy light mystery novels.

Please note I received this novel for free via the Amazon Vine Program. ( )

Something About Sophie by Mary Kay McComas is a mystery and a romance novel. The novel opens with a dying man, Arthur Cubeck, is killed for telling an unnamed stranger that he has contacted Sophie Shepard to give her information about her birth. Sophie, a kindergarten teacher, was adopted as an infant, but she loves her parents and never wanted to find her birth mother. In fact, Sophie's mother has recently died and she is still mourning her death. When she receives Arthur's letter, Sophie hesitates, but finally decides to go see him. Alas, Sophie arrives too late. She learns that Arthur has passed away, but she is startled to learn that he has left her something in his will.

At the same time Sophie is attracted to Arthur's oncologist, Dr. Drew McCarren. Soon, while tentatively pursuing a relationship with Drew, Sophie is also clearly in danger as people are being murdered for something they know. Sophie ends up staying at a bed and breakfast run by Jesse, who quickly becomes a friend and confidant.

Something About Sophie is set in a small town where everyone knows everyone else and all their past shenanigans. Sophie handles everything swirling around her with an aplomb perkiness that perhaps would be unrealistic in real life, but this is a pleasant diversion of a novel and so it's easy to accept her seemingly nonsensical composure just as it is easy to accept her immediately making friends with almost everyone. She's likeable.

McComas moves the plot along at a nice pace, passing along clues and information to keep your attention. I didn't feel any nail-biting tension, however. It is not a dark novel, despite the deaths and intrigue, although a final revelation is quite sad. Additionally, it is clear that everything will turn out good in the end so the novel is really just about the journey.

Highly Recommended - this is a pleasant read and would actually would be a great vacation novel.

Disclosure: I received an uncorrected proof of this book from HarperCollins and TLC for review purposes.


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There are two plots in this book, and they don't necessarily fit well together. The main plot, as suggested by the back of the book, concerns the mystery of Sophie Shepard's origins. She's summoned to the deathbed of an elderly man she's never met, and discovers that she's been left his home in her will. Everyone in the small town of Clearfield, Virginia, acts strange around her. Sophie chalks this up to a very small town being closed to outsiders. By the end of the book she'll discover why she's in Virginia and why she's inherited an estate from a man she's never met, and the reasons aren't very pleasant. Secondary to this mystery, is a budding romance between Sophie and a doctor she meets at the hospital, Drew McCarren. This is a sort of ridiculous story, it takes up way too much of the book, and takes away from the mystery. Sophie and Drew head over heels in love with each other, and even Drew's overbearing society mother seems to like Sophie. Sophie and Drew act kind of like teenagers even though they're supposed to be full-grown adults.

In general, I thought the mystery portion of this book was well-done. I had figured out the story behind Sophie's birth mother by the time she visits the lawyer, but I still enjoyed reading to see what would happen at the end. It was a more complicated ending than I expected. That said, I found the beginning of the book to be hard to slog through. Sophie is far too perfect and nice to be believable, and her internal dialogue about Drew is basically inane. More mystery, less romance, would make this a better book.

Interesting aside- I think the author must be a UVA alum- there's so much about Charlottesville and UVA in here. It's written with the fervent love of place that's commonplace among UVA alums (yes, I am one.) ( )

Something About Sophie
by
Mary Kay McComas

My "in a nutshell" summary...

Secrets and lies bring Sophie back to the place she started from.

My thoughts after reading this book...

A dying man requests Sophie's presence in his town in order to tell her something. Unfortunately he "dies" before Sophie has a chance to see him. When his will is read...a beloved home is left to Sophie. She has no clue why. But...she is adopted...her adoptive parents went to school in this town and lots of sort of shady mysterious stuff continues to surround Sophie as she extends her stay in this quaint town.

There has to be a love interest in this story and there is one. The town doctor helps Sophie
work her way through this slowly unravelling experience. Sigh! DNA, the sense of being watched, and figuring out why Sophie was in this will at all...make this a really delicious reading experience. And more people "die"...and they seem to all have something to do with Sophie...hmmm...it gets scary and had me really guessing about who was responsible for Sophie's personal tragedy.

What I loved about this book...

I loved the small town setting. I loved Jessie and her quaint B & B...I loved the mystery and suspense of it all.

What I did not love about this book...

Well...I seriously think that if you read this kind of book as much as I do...they can get a bit predictable...but that's really ok!

Final thoughts...

A good suspense filled mystery! I enjoyed it!

Sent from my iPad2 by Patty!!! ( )

This book would be a good summer read if you are wiling to suspend belief -- The plot was too improbable. I did finish the book to see what happened, but was ultimately disappointed ( )