I loved The Long Walk Home and have read it twice. I also enjoyed Water, Stone Heart. So I was eager to get this book and paid much more for it than I usually do. It is confusing, with too many characters. The book begins near the end of the story, then back tracks several years. Colon,Tyler and Pete (Martha Petersen) meet in London where Colon is going to veterinarian school and sharing an apartment with Tyler who sleeps around. Pete arrives unexpectedly while Tyler is out of town. Pete and Tyler have known each other from childhood and it is assumed by them and their families that Pete and Tyler will marry.Fast forward to summer time and the last day of Labor Day weekend at homes near Puget Sound in Washington. All the families, Petersens, Rutherfords & Strongs, appear to be related one way or another. There are many family members and friends in this story, all very confusing as to who is who and who is involved and/or related to who. Jealousy, drunkenness and sex abound. When the language is meant to be "funny", it is trite.There is one incident where Colon, the vet, treats a Jack Russell Terrier, again, because his owner ran over his leg. The dog belonged to the owner's husband before he passed away, and his widow, who dislikes the dog, keeps finding ways to hurt the dog, hoping the dog will die, bringing him in for Colon to treat again and again. Colon does nothing about this, when he should have found a new owner for the dog.Not just because of the incidents with the dog, but because I found it boring, I could hardly finish the book and skipped through some of it. I did finish it because I wanted to find out what happened to the many individuals involved.Obviously, I do not recommend it.