Lynda Wolters’ THE PLACEHOLDER gets off to a meaty start, with protagonist Sera finding herself all but destitute following the collapse of her marriage to Clint, her misery compounded by being usurped by a younger woman. Despite her acumen in the professional arena, Sera’s personal life is trapped in a vicious cycle wherein she “morph[s] for every man.” She has clearly given her all in a quest to salvage her marriage: “I even dyed my hair. Clint liked blondes.” In this instance, lawyer Sera relinquishes ownership of her home, car, and dignity (against the advice of her friend and boss, Carolyn ) in the futile hope she will be granted access to Clint’s two daughters. That Sera herself is unable to have children only adds to the pathos.

At this juncture, the temptation is for readers to root for Sera. This intelligent, successful woman has endured a difficult childhood, has been serially unlucky in love, and is denied the opportunity for motherhood – and now finds herself living in a seedy motel room. She can be forgiven, therefore, for temporarily indulging in something of a “pity party”. It soon becomes apparent, however, that Sera is her own worst enemy. Her response to a crisis is to throw herself into a succession of unwise relationships. Her objective is to have fun, an antidote to romantic disappointment that is entirely relatable. But in each liaison each Sera loses herself, hence renders herself vulnerable. Ultimately, her behavior is tantamount to self-annihilation rather than healing. The role of friend Carolyn here is ambiguous: on the one hand, she offers common-sense advice and dishes out tough love; on the other, she engages in “slut-shaming” (Sera’s words), which is simultaneously unhelpful and unwittingly smug, delivered from the comfortable perspective of a woman in a secure, monogamous relationship.

The climactic moment arrives when Sera’s self-destructive conduct places her in harm’s way. The reader wills for Sera to bounce back and start afresh with new-found wisdom. However, readers’ sympathies may begin to wane as Sera once again launches into unwise liaisons that erode her self-esteem.
But this is a book of two halves, with the second switching to Sera’s health challenges, foreshadowed earlier in the narrative. As the protagonist’s outcome hangs in the balance, our irritation is tempered by sympathy. As such, it appears that Wolters has created a character that is more complex than first thought. It may even raise feminist questions as to whether Sera is being “punished” for her seemingly promiscuous dalliances.

While there is little in the way of romance or hope to lift the prospect of a positive outcome in Lynda Wolters’ THE PLACEHOLDER, the protagonist’s complexity–and reader’s response to her–make it worth a read.

~Amanda Ellison for IndieReader