Release Date: March 21, 2017

My Review:

Fritz Hudson was a very wealthy businessman living a double life with two sets of families living on opposite coasts. Neither family was aware of the other, but that all changed when Fritz dies of cancer and his will is disclosed.  At the reading of his will, his families find out that he was married to two women at the same time and he has three daughters. The two daughters raised in California , Allie and Des, meet their half sister Cara from New Jersey for the first time. They also learn that their inheritance will not be paid until certain obligations are met. The three girls are required to renovate Fritz’s family theater in his hometown of Hidden Falls, Pennsylvania. This must be done in person and requires them all to relocate to Hidden Falls to oversee the renovation. If any of the sisters leave, the entire inheritance will go to charity.

Cara Hudson is looking forward to living in Pennsylvania. She is recently divorced and needs a catalyst to get away from her ex-husband.  She is enthusiastic about meeting her “new” sisters and sharing details from her father’s secret life.  Allie and Des were raised in California but as the years progressed, their relationship became strained.  Allie is an out of work television producer facing serious financial difficulty. She is divorced and struggling to support her teenage daughter. She has little interest in connecting with either of her sisters but she is so desperate for money that she makes the move to Pennsylvania. Des lives by herself in Montana after experiencing success as a child TV star. She is free spirited and spends her time fostering and rescuing dogs.  She is interested in meeting Cara and trying to repair her relationship with Allie.  The three sisters come together to learn about their father, each other, and themselves.

This book is narrated in Cara’s voice and includes a mix of family drama, love, and secrets. This is the first book of a trilogy and I suspect that we will see Allie and Des’s viewpoints in later books.  I enjoyed this book by Mariah Stewart.

THE LAST CHANCE MATINEE
Mariah Stewart
Publication Date: March 21, 2017
Publisher: Gallery Books
$16.00 Trade Paperback Original
ISBN: 9781501144905
Fiction
Book 1 in the Hudson Sisters series
Look for Book 2 in 2018 and Book 3 in 2019!

Note:
Mariah Stewart’s separate series, the bestselling Chesapeake Diaries, has been a favorite with readers since 2010. The eleventh installment, The Chesapeake Bride, will publish August 29, 2017.

Praise for The Last Chance Matinee:
“The combination of a quirky small-town setting, a family mystery, a gentle romance, and three estranged sisters is catnip for women’s-fiction fans, and the backdrop of the faded movie palace adds a fascinating element to the story. Stewart’s lively, warmhearted series starter [The Last Chance Matinee] will have readers eagerly awaiting the second installment.”
—Booklist

“A good read, with a nice blend of mystery, family drama, and romance. Readers will look forward to the next installment.”
—Library Journal

About Mariah Stewart:
Mariah Stewart is an award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of numerous novels as well as several novellas and short stories. She lives with her husband and two rambunctious rescue dogs amid the rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she savors county life and tends her gardens while she works on her next novel. Visit her at mariahstewart.com and follow her on Facebook.com/AuthorMariahStewart and on Instagram @mariah_stewart_books.