Rediscovering Family

Jack Benton is a top contract negotiator for Kriesen Technology, a high-tech company. Assigned to Kriesen’s Berlin office, he gets a phone call from home. His mother, Sally Benton, age 51, has died, suddenly, unexpectedly.

Miss Sally’s Son, a novel by Thomas Curry, opens with Jack returning home to settle his mother’s affairs. A contract negotiation with the Saudis is at a critical point, so he turns over to an assistant to go to his Williamsburg home, where his mother, Sally Benton, lived and owned a café.

He learns his mother shared her home with her café’s manager, Carolyn; Carolyn’s daughter, Mony, a law student at William and Mary; and Mony’s daughter, Sae. They are black. He discovers his mother was a beloved figure in Williamsburg, known for her faith and charitable activities. (Miss Sally hired Carolyn after Carolyn was widowed and needed a job.)

Jack’s mother was a single mother, an orphan with no relatives. Jack’s father disappeared before Jack’s birth. Jack expected his mother’s finances to be a mess, forcing Jack to pay off the mortgage on the house and close an unprofitable café, especially since she refused all offers of money from Jack.

Instead, he learns she owned her home and the building which houses the café outright, with no debt. The café is profitable, and his mother had significant savings even after paying for Jack’s college education, including his Harvard law degree.

His mother’s papers reveal the identity of Jack’s father, a nationally known Catholic figure, who died earlier. At work, his assistant, hoping to advance herself, disregards Jack’s directions while Jack is on leave. Crisis ensues. This, along with discoveries revealed about his parents, forces Jack to reevaluate his priorities. He can learn from his parents’ mistakes or repeat them.

Miss Sally’s Son is a sweet book, a tale of discovery and redemption. Jack is a good man, but incomplete. He has fallen away from his faith and neglected his family in pursuit of fortune, a fortune he discovers he does not need. His mother’s death leads Jack into new relationships, including some leading to love.

If you believe religion is the opiate of the people, this book is not for you. Those for whom faith is an important part of life, even for those willing to consider it might be, will find this book thought-provoking and revealing.

“Miss Sally's Son: A Novel,” by Thomas Curry, Ignatius Press, February 2026, 321 pages, $17.95 (Paperback), $17.95 (E-book)

This review was written by Mark Lardas, who writes at Ricochet as Seawriter. Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City, TX. His website is marklardas.com.