Acts of Love

Acts of Love: A Novel by Emily Listfield ~~ After nearly a year of an uneasy separation, Ted Waring is hoping to persuade Ann not to sign the divorce papers. Dropping off his two daughters to the family home after a hunting trip, Ted loses his temper when he hears Ann has been dating another man. The gun he is holding accidentally discharges, killing Ann. Or was it an accident? Julia, the troubled older daughter, insists that Ted deliberately killed her mother. Both Ted and Julia try to persuade the younger daughter, Ali, to corroborate their different versions of what really happened. Using a technique of alternating flashbacks with accounts of Ted's arrest and trial, Listfield gradually fleshes out each character, so that words like guilt and innocence are not so easy to assign.


Ann & Ted have been separated for a year. Ted is hoping to convince Ann not to sign the divorce papers, and even tries to enlist his daughters help. Upon returning from a camping trip with his girls, Ted & Ann get into an arguement and Ann is shot and killed. The oldest daughter Julia is a witness to the shooting, Ali - the youngest daughter was in the kitchen. The book is filled with Ted, Julia and Sandy (Ann's sister) all trying to manipulate Ali into say ing what they want her to say when Ted goes to trial. We also get glimples into the lives of Ann & Sandy when they were younger, and how both sets of sisters relationships brings us to an emotional conclusion! A+