by Gigi Lewangie Grazier (Get the Book)Grazier, A-list writer for the TV series The Starter Wife, which is based on her best-selling 2005 novel of the same name, delivers another strong story set in upscale Los Angeles with The After Wife. Hannah Bernal is bereft when she learns that her beloved husband has been killed in a hit-and-run accident while on his way to the market. She struggles with overwhelming grief and the impossible task of comforting her three-year-old daughter, Ellie, who was inseparable from her stay-at-home dad. Three colorful friends keep Hannah going during a series of crises involving an arrest, a job termination, and day-care difficulties, but they balk at Hannah's weird and troubling new ability to see and hear the dead. Hannah begins to advise people according to the wishes of their deceased relatives and even talks to her dead husband. Grazer evokes powerful emotions and situations that remain realistic even with the complication of Hannah's paranormal gift, and she ends this affecting tale on a hopeful note. Fans of Lolly Winston, Mary Kay Andrews, and Jennifer Weiner will especially enjoy Grazer's newest. --Booklist
