Responsible Party by Lisa Blackwell is a compulsively readable story about the family we choose, the past we can’t escape, and the love we never saw coming. Fans of upmarket, book club novels that balance humor, emotional depth, and romance, in the same wryly intelligent way as a Taylor Jenkins Reid or Alison Espach story, will love Blackwell.
Recently widowed Kate Campbell becomes the legal “responsible party” for Erin Deere, a charming, disaster-prone amnesiac on the run, after a mix-up when Kate’s late wife’s phone is found in Erin’s possession.
Kate wants Erin gone. Her meddling best friend and the town’s army of redneck romantics want to solve the mystery. But nothing adds up: Erin’s missing ID, the thousands in cash she has hidden, and the unidentifiable language she murmurs in her sleep…
As Christmas approaches and weeks blur into months, Kate’s grief spiral slows under the influence of this unexpected (and increasingly welcome) friend. A…very attractive friend. She realizes the most dangerous thing about Erin isn’t whomever she’s running from; it’s how right it feels when she stays. Then Erin’s past catches up, forcing Kate to choose: protect the careful distance she’s maintained from her own heart, or fight for a future neither woman saw coming.
With sharp wit, tender emotional beats, and a mystery that unravels as slowly as Kate’s defenses, Responsible Party delivers both laugh-out-loud moments and the kind of romance that sneaks up on you, then refuses to let go. A story about grief, identity, and the beautiful mess of letting someone in.