SLEEP

Jones's debut novel continually shifts between Margaret's traumatic girlhood and her current life. She's a divorced mom with two daughters, a dominating mother, an earnest ex, and a new boyfriend whom she enjoys, especially sexually. Narrator Rebecca Lowman embraces her character's inner life. Lowman's tone and tempo are just right as she voices Margaret's anxious thoughts and struggles. The story balances the demands on Margaret as a mother, her work as a magazine editor, and her complex relationship with her own mother, who is elegant yet intrusive. Jones skillfully portrays the mother-daughter issues and obligations, and is especially apt in her depiction of Margaret's symbiotic relationship with her best friend, Biddy. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2025]