Delinsky flounders on her latest, a chronicle of how a family deals with a tragedy that befalls its favorite daughter. An Olympic marathon contender, self-centered Robin Snow often rubs her younger sister, Molly, the wrong way. After many years in her sister´s shadow, Molly takes out her resentment with petty actions, such as refusing to accompany Robin on a run. Fatefully, Robin has a heart attack while training and falls into a coma. As Robin´s condition fails to improve, Delinsky digs tediously into the family´s woes: Molly´s touchy relationship with Robin´s ambitious reporter ex-boyfriend; middle son Chris´s dealings with a would-be blackmailer; mother Kathryn´s trouble coming to terms with Robin´s dire prognosis. Delinsky litters the narrative with momentum-crippling scene-setting minutiae, and the Snow family, while theatrically intense in their interactions, make for flat characters. Delinsky is adept as portraying angst, but her story would have greatly benefited from a tighter telling and more complex characters.
