Beneath the surface, well-respected Wisconsin surgeon Luscious "Lucy" Peterman is a woman with a shattered psyche. Eight months ago, she lost her loving husband and her unborn child in a single afternoon. Ever since, she's tried to bury herself in work, but there's a problem: Lucy has developed an inexplicable urge to pilfer hospital supplies (such as bandages, tape and IV tubing) and stockpile them in the bedroom she once shared with her husband.
When the powers-that-be at the hospital catch Lucy in the act of stealing, she is given an ultimatum: she must enroll in psychological counseling or forfeit her medical license. Under protest, she chooses the former and soon comes to understand that her addiction is rooted in a kind of wishful preparedness. If she had such provisions with her on the day her life forever changed, Lucy might've been able to alter her fate.
The bond Lucy shares with her brother deepens as she undergoes treatment for her kleptomania and connects with an unusual cast of characters: a concerned psychoanalyst; an anorexic stranger with deep-seated emotional issues who might have friend potential; quirky 12-steppers at a local AA meeting; and a snarky cop who once knew Lucy in high school. Along the way, a stray dog unexpectedly wins Lucy's affections and helps soothe her grief.
Engrossing characterizations and unexpected complications permeate The Dog Year by Ann Garvin (On Maggie's Watch), a novel that addresses serious issues of loss and self-actualization in a very entertaining way. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines