Mia, Laney, Betts, and Ginger, best friends since law school, have reunited for a long weekend as Betts awaits Senate confirmation of her appointment to the Supreme Court. Nicknamed “the Ms. Bradwells” during their first class at the University of Michigan Law School in 1979—when only three women had ever served full Senate terms and none had been appointed to the Court—the four have supported one another through life’s challenges: marriages and divorces, births and deaths, career setbacks and triumphs large and small. Betts was, and still is, the Funny One. Ginger, the Rebel. Laney, the Good Girl. And Mia, the Savant.

But when the Senate hearings uncover a deeply buried skeleton in the friends’ collective closet, the Ms. Bradwells retreat to a summer house on the Chesapeake Bay, where they find themselves reliving a much darker period in their past—one that stirs up secrets they’ve kept for, and from, one another, and could change their lives forever.

Once again, Meg Waite Clayton writes inspiringly about the complex circumstances facing women and the heartfelt friendships that hold them together. Insightful and affecting, The Four Ms. Bradwells is also a captivating tale of how far people will go to protect the ones they love.

Friendship, true lasting friendship can stand the test of time, but is it possible it could stand mysteries left hidden from seemingly ages ago? When Betts is nearing the completion of a long and grueling questioning before being named the next Supreme Court Justice there’s only one question that could ruin her chances as well as possibly destroy friendships cemented in the sands of time. What happens after her response and subsequent retreat with the Four Ms. Bradwells will have you questioning what it means to be a true friend and one that would endure nearly everything for love. A trial, a murder, friendship and much more, but not all in that order are what await readers of The Four Ms. Bradwells.

So, firstly I should start off with what I loved about this story. Each of the “Ms. Bradwells,” as they have been so nicknamed since their time in law school, and how they each represented a smaller part of a larger whole. One without the group was still definitely accomplished, but together they were a force to be reckoned with. Standing together and loving each other through their faults. It was truly enjoyable to see how their friendship developed over the years and especially during their law school years. I especially liked how the story of how of them receiving their nicknames became part of who they were as a group.

What I struggled with…I’m not sure if it’s because my husband is an attorney, but parts of the legal aspects of the story became quite dull to me. In ways it was interesting to learn more about some of the cases my husband has spent hours devouring, but in others it seemed to make the story drag a bit. I honestly don’t know if that’s because of my familiarity with the subject or because it simply was a tad drawn out. I couldn’t help but wonder at times if the right audience for this book might possibly be other attorneys? In ways, I wanted to know more about the mystery that was surrounding the four friends, but much of that wasn’t revealed until quite a bit later in the book.

Another aspect I had a hard time with at first was the changing narrators. This isn’t something I normally have a problem with, though usually there are only between two to three narrators in a story. With four narrators I found myself constantly stopping to reacquaint myself with who was speaking. It wasn’t until I was close to 100 pages in that I finally started to get a handle on things; which coincidentally was also about the time I started to really get interested in the book as well.

No doubt, Meg Waite Clayton knows her legal terminology & history as well as how to write an intriguing story. I adored the love the friends had for one another and the lengths at which each Ms. Bradwells would go to protect those they loved most of all. Unfortunately, the story was a little slower than I would have liked though I could definitely see someone with some type of legal affiliation being extremely interested in the finer details shared. It took a bit more than I would have liked to get into the mystery of the story, but was still very interesting just the same. Ultimately a beautiful story about love, friendship and what people are willing to sacrifice in exchange for those things.

I’d like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of the book for review!

• Digg
• Stumble it!
• Reddit

• AW Giveaway: What Came First by Carol Snow
• AW Book News: The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
• AW Book Review: Past Perfect by Leila Sales