Handle with Care Paperback

“This beautiful novel gives readers what we most need these days–a deep breath of humanity and hope.” –Gin Phillips, author of Fierce Kingdom and Ruby Falls

“Rich with complex characters, a tightly woven plot and natural suspense that will keep readers hooked until the very last page.” –Belle Burden, author of Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage

“With each twist and turn, Whalen reveals that life is fragile, love is fierce, and we are far more alike than we imagine.” –Elizabeth Bass Parman, author of Bees in June and The Empress of Cooke County

Three women walk into a post office. This is no joke–it’s the spark that ignites a life-altering hostage crisis.

On a quiet spring afternoon, an ordinary small-town post office becomes ground zero for a domestic dispute. A husband draws a weapon and seals the doors, holding four hostages captive: his terrified wife, a young woman searching for meaning amid uncertainty, a mother on the brink of letting go as her only daughter graduates, and an elderly woman concealing a secret that could shatter everything she knows.

Outside, the negotiator works to keep a fragile peace, forced to confront her own baggage as every word becomes a lifeline.

Each of the three women who walked into the post office is carrying something that, if mailed, would profoundly change her life. As minutes become hours in this daylong siege, these strangers forge lasting bonds.

Handle with Care shines a light on hope found even in the darkest moments, and illuminates how even strangers, thrown together by chance and hardship, have the power to change each other’s lives.

A perfect book club read that includes discussion questions.