THE THIRLLING SEQUEL TO THE ICONIC FILM: It has only been a few days since George Bailey faced personal and professional ruin. Thanks to a Christmas miracle and the generosity of many friends, George has discovered what a wonderful life he has lived in Bedford Falls. BUT, What happens next? Although filled with renewed purpose and gratitude, as 1946 dawns, an uneasy feeling begins to plague George. Something tells him that his evil nemesis —the ruthless Henry F. Potter—is not finished with him yet. George’s darkest fears are confirmed with the arrival of state bank examiner, Mark Jerome, who has his own determined agenda for solving the mystery about that fateful day when the money went missing from the Building and Loan. Fully aware of how the truth has been manipulated, Mr. Potter basks in wicked anticipation of George being wrongly implicated in a financial scandal. When the tables are turned, and Mr. Potter finds himself the surprising target of blackmail and the center of the hard-nosed bank inquiry, he concocts a scheme to destroy George Bailey once and for all. But things have a way of working out in Bedford Falls. Soon, bank examiner Mark Jerome realizes his heavy-handed effort to find the truth has only complicated matters. Seeking a way to atone for his mistakes, Jerome embarks on a fascinating journey filled with many twists and turns. In the end, what he discovers changes Potter, George, and Bedford Falls forever.
Fresh Snow on Bedford Falls is a sweet and surprising follow-up that adds unimagined dimensions to a holiday classic.Lingering questions from a classic holiday movie are given new answers in G. L. Gooding’s Fresh Snow in Bedford Falls: Second Chances, a sweet, surprising, and in-depth follow-up to the perennial favorite It’s a Wonderful Life.The story picks up the day after Christmas as businessman George Bailey, still concerned about the eight thousand dollars missing from his family’s building and loan company, meets with yet another bank inspector, Mark Jerome. Unknown to George and other Bedford Falls residents, Jerome is also—a la Clarence Odbody, George’s Christmas Eve pal—an angel in search of his wings. His assignment to solve the money mystery and then find forgiveness for its perpetrator is at the heart of this tale.Taking place over the course of a year, the events focus on Jerome’s investigative abilities. He was a detective in his previous life, and his eye is now on Henry F. Potter, the town’s richest, most powerful, and probably most despised man. The interactions among various characters are fun to watch unfold, especially for those familiar with their movie counterparts.Old favorites include Ernie the cab driver, Bert the cop, and befuddled Uncle Billy. They are rounded out, while new faces—Chief of Police Adam Cook and Potter aide Sterling Latimoore—are added to the upstate New York village setting.Jerome’s research on Potter’s past leads to two additional stories within the story—a fairly lengthy one featuring Lady Abigail Forsyth and her escape from a tyrannical English father and a shorter one following two youngsters on their journey from a New York orphanage to the Midwest on an orphan train. Though occurring more than thirty years earlier, these stories are tied neatly together via Jerome’s presence in the present.Details are nicely inserted: for example, Chief Cook is always chasing his aspirin with cold coffee, and a forlorn parent mourns that her missing young adult daughter would “be almost sixty now.” The name of a chambermaid is confused, however, and the young boys’ train journey is adventurous but ill-fitted within the larger story. Foreshadowing is used to its utmost advantage as the author drops in hints and red herrings regarding the missing English woman; it’s nearly a surprise when her fate is finally revealed. Solid storytelling reveals secrets and travails that roundaboutly connect back to Bedford Falls and the fallout from the previous Christmas Eve.Dialogue is true to the era, whether it’s capturing small-town New York or early-twentieth-century England. It is a real delight to read dialogue from the movie’s characters, and it’s easy to imagine the words being spoken by them.Careful word choices and narrative cadence make for a wonderful fit. In less creative hands, this story might not have succeeded as well. Still, familiarity with the movie is not necessary for enjoyment, though it does enhance the text.Fresh Snow on Bedford Falls is a sweet and surprising follow-up that adds unimagined dimensions to a holiday classic. ROBIN FARRELL EDMUNDS (January 3, 2018)
