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A retired accountant becomes the town's fortune-teller in this witty and charming debut
Norbert Zelenka has always lived life on the sidelines. It's why at seventy-three years old he's broke and alone except for the company of a Chihuahua. But when "Carlotta's Club"—three strong-willed seniors with plenty of time on their hands—decide to make Norbert their latest project, he reluctantly agrees to their scheme: establishing himself as the town's fortune-teller. Soon his life begins changing in unexpected ways.
It turns out that years of observing other people make Norbert an excellent card reader. As Norbert's lonesome world expands with new friendships and a newfound self-confidence, he finally finds himself in a place where he belongs. But disaster looms on the horizon. When a troubled young woman goes missing after a bad reading, Norbert must find a strength beyond the cards to bring her home safely.
A heartfelt story of coming-of-age late in life, The Reluctant Fortune-Teller is a poignant reminder that we're never too old to learn new tricks.
"Frost's cast of senior citizens shine in her comical debut... The Reluctant Fortune-Teller will charm any reader looking for a sweet, witty, zany read in the foreseeable future." - Booklist
"Charming, warm, and wittily told." - Kirkus Reviews
"A warm, charming story you read with a smile." - Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg, #1 bestselling author of The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules
"It's easy to foresee a great future for this delightful debut. Insightful, charming and intriguing, Norbert Z show us that it's never too late to change the cards that life deals us." - Phaedra Patrick, author of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
"Through learning to listen to others, Norbert discovers his own intuition-and in doing so, launches himself out of his ordinariness. An extraordinary book by an extraordinary new author." - Benjamin Ludwig, author of Ginny Moon
"Delightful. Norbert Z is warm and real and we rejoice in his growth throughout the story. This is a real comfort read in an uncertain world." - Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author
This information about The Reluctant Fortune-Teller was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Keziah Frost works as a psychotherapist who specializes in pet grief. She developed The Reluctant Fortune Teller while enrolled in the Faber Academy under Tom Bromley. She shares her life with five little dogs, one audacious cat, and her encouraging human family. This is her first novel.
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