Whiskey and Charlie / Annabel Smith / 336 pgs

I read this book because it is next month's book club book and I doubt I would have picked it up if not for that fact. However, I really enjoyed the book. I loved the set up of the chapters. There are 26 in all, for each letter of the alphabet, but not just the alphabet - the international phonetic alphabet. I learned that alphabet when I was a kid because I got my ham radio license at the age of 10. The phonetic alphabet starts with Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India.....

Each of those words show up somewhere in that chapter, and it's that alphabet that ties the story of twin brothers, Whiskey (William) and Charlie. In the story, Whiskey is in a coma in present day, but the book goes back to the beginning to tell the story of Whiskey and Charlie, their relationship as brothers, from childhood to adulthood. Along the way, their relationship fractures and breaks. The reader is given reasons why. My only complaint is that although we are told that they were nearly inseparable as kids, the reader is not given a whole lot of a glimpse into their happy childhood. It seems that Charlie was jealous of his brother from nearly the very beginning.

Nevertheless, this book will speak volumes to anyone who has ever had a less than perfect relationship with a sibling, so I do recommend it highly.