Fans of Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry probably could not imagine the author writing a sequel to that shimmering book-and she hasn't. Her new novel is a parallel tale that delves deeply into the story of Queenie Hennessy, Harold Fry's old friend from the brewery whose letter prompted him to take that long, long walk across England. The novel, which mirrors the structure of its predecessor without feeling slavish, opens with a letter from Harold arriving for Queenie at St. Bernadine's Hospice. He's coming to her on foot, telling her to wait, and she panics. She's never revealed to him why she left Kingsbridge so abruptly, feeling that she is complicit in a terrible sadness in Harold's life, and has been living in solitude by the sea and tending a garden she's created to atone. A new nun, Sister Mary Inconnue, comes to the rescue, insisting that she will help Queenie write a letter telling all, which Harold can read upon his arrival. Verdict Touching on the depth of Queenie's feeling for Harold and her complicated relationship with his difficult son, this new work is somewhat darker and more detailed than Joyce's first book. All Harold Fry fans will love it. [See Prepub Alert, 8/4/14.]-Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Joyce's bestselling novel, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, followed the journey of Harold, a retiree who chose to walk the entire length of England to reunite with an old friend. This novel focuses on the old friend in question: Queenie Hennessy, who's dying of cancer in a hospice in northern England. When she receives word that Harold's begun walking the 600 miles to see her, Queenie's apprehensive: they haven't seen each other in 20 years. As she begins to write in a long letter to Harold, readers see that their unorthodox friendship was far more complicated than Harold may think. Through Queenie's flashbacks, we see the beginnings of their friendship when they met as coworkers at the local brewery. We also learn new information about Queenie's secret friendship with Harold's teen son, David; the circumstances around David's tragic early death; and Queenie's long-hidden feelings for Harold. In the present day, Queenie's fellow patients in the hospice also take up the mantle of waiting for Harold, and some poignant and hilarious new bonds form. Fans of Harold's story will appreciate a chance to meet him again and hear his story from a new angle, and after a slow and slightly confusing start, even newcomers to Queenie and Harold's doomed love story will not be immune to its charms. A bittersweet final twist is a fitting cap to a tragic, touching tale. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

*Starred Review* In Joyce's Man Booker Prize short-listed debut novel (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, 2012), her peripatetic protagonist walks the length of England to get to the hospice bedside of Queenie Hennessy, a coworker he knew briefly, though not well, 20 years earlier. In this beguiling follow-up, Joyce tracks Harold's journey from Queenie's point-of-view. Disfigured and silenced by a facial malignancy, Queenie can only communicate through scrawled notes and garbled grunts; but with each of Fry's postcards imploring her to hang on until his arrival, Queenie takes the opportunity to revisit their shared past, trying to atone for her perceived part in the suicide death of Harold's son, David. With the support and exhortations of her tender caregivers and boisterous fellow patients, Queenie reveals a lonely but ultimately rewarding life gardening by the sea, where she both abandoned and embraced her love for this strange, silent man. Sequels are often slippery things, books readers welcome a bit hesitantly, fearful that the second installment won't hold a candle to the first. In telling Queenie's side of the story, Joyce accomplishes the rare feat of endowing her continuing narrative with as much pathos and warmth, wisdom and poignancy as her debut. Harold was beloved by millions; Queenie will be, too.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2015 Booklist

Joyce (Perfect, 2014, etc.) offers an introspective follow-up to her 2012 breakout debut, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.Queenie Hennessy has entered St. Bernadine's Hospice in northeast England. Cancer has destroyed her throat and jaw, and now she awaits death among "rejects, you might say...and it was a relief, a blessed relief." Word comes that a friend, Harold Fry, has learned of her illness. He intends to walk from Kingsbridge, 600 miles away. Harold wants Queenie to wait for him. What follows is a history of their fractured friendship, with her confession as the narrative's heart. Decades prior, when the two worked together, Queenie fell in love with Harold but never revealed her feelings. "I loved your voice, your walk, your marriage, your hands, your zigzag socks...for God's sake, everything about you." Harold had a brilliant son, David, a troubled young man"For all his selfishness, he was as astute as a knife"whom Queenie attempted to help. "I had promised myself that I would be a bridge between you and your son, and I was out of my depth." David committed suicide. In Queenie's meditative memories"There is a huge story ahead of me, and the truth is so complicated"her remembrance of unrequited love is shared with a sometimes-funny, sometimes-sad reflection on life's bitter end. Any pathos is mostly subsumed by wry humor and clarity regarding life's foibles, the story ending with a beautiful twist reminding us we all journey through life as lonely, sometimes-inarticulate pilgrims. Reading Harold Fry first will allow this deeply emotional novel to resonate more fully. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.