The Book of Sonny

Sonny DeMario a 40-something FedEx driver in Cedar City Utah and his wife Sue an office manager for a construction company live in the same house but dont love each other anymore. Years ago Sonnys relationships with his two grown children Vincent and Veronica nearly broke down completely. He expressed moral outrage over the revelation that Vincent was gay and went to live with his childhood friend in San Francisco and about the fact that Veronica had a child out of wedlock with her abusive boyfriend Ron Meskin. The current highlights of Sonnys life are his job his conversations with his friends and the companionship of his 7-year-old German shepherd Cody. When an acquaintance at the local dog park suggests they breed their dogs and sell the pups Sonny agrees. Meanwhile Sue pursues a lucrative offer to model for a handsome photographer. These parallel moneymaking ventures are interrupted when Ron irate over Veronicas overnight absence takes their 3-year-old son Darrin and disappears. A distraught Sonny and Sue take the initiative in trying to find their grandson putting up fliers canvasing online social media sites talking with friends of Ron in search of clues. Overall Lauries novel is fast-paced smoothly accomplished and involving. He expertly intertwines the two main narrative strands and along the way he even includes an intriguing mystery involving an enigmatic old man who begins appearing to Sonny in visions just as all the events in his life seem to go haywire at the same time. The dialogue throughout the story is believable and straightforward and the plots undercurrents of uplift never feel cheap or manipulative nor does the gradual deepening of Sonnys empathy for his children.A heartfelt story of a broken family beginning to heal.