The One Good Thing by Kevin Alan Milne * A Review

For as long as Halley Steen has known her husband Nathan, he has carried a handful of stones in his pocket. Each day he uses those stones to remind him to follow the Golden Rule, moving a stone from one pocket to the other with each act of kindness. So it's not unusual that Nathan stops to help a stranger on the side of the highway while on his way to his son's football game one Friday evening. But that one act will change all of their lives forever, when a car hydroplanes off the road, killing Nathan instantly.

As Halley and her children Ty and Alice struggle with their grief, Nathan's spiritual legacy lives on. A Facebook page appears, where countless stories about Nathan's selfless acts are shared. But among them is one that stands out, from a woman who says that Nathan saved her life. Neither Halley nor her children have ever heard of Madeline Zuckerman. But soon Halley discovers years of e-mails from this woman to her husband on his computer that refer to "our little girl." How could her husband have kept the secret of this other child for their entire marriage? Why had he lied to her? Was he not the man she thought he was?

Only thirteen-year-old Alice maintains unwavering faith in her father. She knows there's an explanation. When she sets out to find Madeline and learn the truth, she will start to unravel the complex story of The One Good Thing Nathan Steen did that had the greatest impact of all.

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Center Street (March 12, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1455510084
ISBN-13: 978-1455510085

Kevin Milne was born in 1973 in Portland, Oregon. Although Oregon was always considered home, he also spent portions of his childhood in Virginia, Hawaii, and California. In 1991 he graduated from Sherwood High school, followed by undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University, then an MBA from Pennsylvania State University. As an adult he has lived in such varied places as Vermont, New Jersey, Nevada, Austria, and Croatia.

Since beginning his writing career in 2007, Milne's novels have been reproduced in 16 languages worldwide. His first published work, "The Paper Bag Christmas", was converted to a stage play in 2011.

Today, Kevin resides once more in his home town of Sherwood, Oregon. He and his wife, Rebecca, were married in Washington DC in 1995, and are the proud parents of five children.


MY REVIEW
  This is the second book I’ve read written by Kevin Alan Milne and it is just as good as or even better than the first. This book The One Good Thing is one of my favorites for 2013. Truly a book well written full of such love, compassion and an ending you won’t believe.
  I like how loving Nathan is and how he helps others and mostly his family. How he would do anything to help others. This book is about Nathan even though he dies before much of the book is written.
  How it is wonderful that his daughter whom is thirteen is the only one who believes in him and knows he wouldn’t lie to her and she trusts him completely.
  You will experience how each of the people in the story grow and change as the story moves along, but you will also think about how you would react if that happened to you. Would you believe and trust someone you have lived with and known for many, many years.
  You will find in The One Good Thing such love, acceptance, perseverance and full forgiveness really is.
  If you don’t read any other book this year read The One Good Thing. Kevin Alan Milne is a wonderful story teller and someone who will keep your attention from the first page to the last. I highly recommend this book for a book to keep and read often.

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I received my free copy from Sarah Reck at Center Street/HachetteBookGroup, for my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255