You might not know how you felt about the song if you were alone in your car, but sung in a local pub? With a drink in your hand? Alongside strangers? Pure Magic. Others joined in from all the way across the room, and it became a call-and-response, a song everyone knew. “The whole place was full from end to end, and from one group came a sudden swell of people singing. Tense, passionate, and atmospheric, I didn’t want to put this one down. The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane is a quiet, but memorable novel about the convergence of a struggling couple, a failing local bar, and an epic snowstorm over the course of one week. With a deft eye and generous spirit, Keane explores the disappointments and unexpected consolations of midlife, the many forms forgiveness can take, the complicated intimacy of small-town living, and what it means to be a family. Like Malcolm, she feels her youth beginning to slip away and wonders how to reshape her future.Īward-winning author Mary Beth Keane’s new novel takes place over the course of one week when Malcolm learns shocking news about Jess, a patron of the bar goes missing, and a blizzard hits the town of Gillam, trapping everyone in place. After years of trying for a baby, she is facing the idea that motherhood may not be in the cards for her.

His smart and confident wife, Jess, has devoted herself to her law career. He sees unquantifiable magic and potential in the Half Moon and hopes to transform it into a bigger success, but struggles to stay afloat. When his boss finally retires, Malcolm stretches to buy the place.

Malcolm Gephardt, handsome and gregarious longtime bartender at the Half Moon, has always dreamed of owning a bar. From the bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes, a masterful novel about a couple in a small town who must navigate the complexities of marriage, family, and longing.

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