Josie Trask is one neurotic woman...but she has a lot of heart. Hired to research the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis for a less-than-serious biographer, Josie moves back in her childhood Massachusetts home for the summer in order to be close to her source's personal history. It's right after Jackie O's death and digging up the most private of Jackie's dirt takes time. This means moving back in with an overbearing and alcoholic mother while contending with a typical three year old son, all on her own. Husband Peter has headed to California for a teaching job, carpooling with college friend, Monica. While Josie is trying to satisfy a constantly demanding employer and worrying about her absent husband, she is convinced her mother is dating a criminal and her husband is having an affair. As Josie digs deeper into Jackie's life she can't help but notice the similarities. What lessons can she learn from the life of a former First Lady? ( )

Despite a slow start, this book becomes a page turner as several story lines are deftly woven together.

Josie & Peter--grad students finishing dissertations. Josie working as a researcher for an author writing about Jackie O.

Eleanor & Fred: Josie's mother & new friend, an arsonist

Leslie: Josie's sister so defined and restricted

Some events & quotations of Jackie O's life are woven throughout and tied up neatly at the end. ( )