Lonely Ladies (Book Review: Morning Glory, Sarah Jio)

This is the third book I have read from Sarah Jio, and I am kind of sensing a pattern: all of them have parallel stories, one from an earlier time, and one modern day. There are always similar themes in the stories that connect the two stories together. In "Mornign Glory," the recurring theme is loneliness, and a houseboat.  The mid century story is about a woman who lives on a houseboat with her artist husband, and she is always left alone. Her modern-day counterpart is a woman who loses her family and seeks solace in the same houseboat. We get a "mystery" on the earlier story, which in turn is "solved" by the modern-day woman. I wish the pay-off was a better reward. I didn't believe the soap-y resolution, and thought it was an idea gone bad. There is even a sub-plot that was too similar to a Mad Men plot line, and they both take place at the same exact time. The book is readily accessible, though, and I have to say I kept turning the page. It just felt like empty calories afterwards.