Handle with Care by Marybeth Whalen follows three women who walk into a small-town post office on an ordinary spring afternoon, only to find themselves held hostage when a domestic dispute spirals out of control. A husband pulls a gun and barricades himself inside with his wife and three strangers: a young woman searching for purpose, a mom facing her daughter’s upcoming departure, and an elderly woman hiding a secret about her life at home. As the daylong siege unfolds, these women forge unexpected bonds and reveal things to each other they haven’t even told those closest to them, while a negotiator on the outside fights to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution using nothing but words.

I actually listened to this one on audio, and I’d recommend that format. It’s told through the POV of all of our main characters, and it seamlessly flows between their perspectives throughout the story. I could see that being hard for some readers to keep track of, but I really enjoyed the structure and thought it worked well here.

This book was not action-packed or a tense thriller. It’s really a slow burn contemporary with a small mystery aspect, in the sense that everyone is carrying secrets they’re trying to work through. Whalen dives deep into each character’s background, their struggles, the weight of what they’ve been holding onto. We watch as the women inside form a trauma bond, opening up to one another in ways they never have with the people closest to them. We watch as he exposes himself: his anger, his fear, his frustration and the events that drove him into that post office. And we watch as one young officer, plagued by her own personal troubles, grows into a competent negotiator over the course of a single afternoon. I really enjoyed getting to know each of them. Overall, it’s a heartfelt read and I enjoyed it.

AMAZON | GOODREADS | BOOKSHOP |★★★★

Handle with Care is out now.  Huge thank you to Thomas Nelson for my copy. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.