Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

A Novel

By: J. Ryan Stradal

Narrated by: Aspen Vincent

“Stradal serves up another saga of food and family, hurt and healing, pitched between cliff-hanger moments. . . that make the pages fly.” —People

From the New York Times bestselling author J. Ryan Stradal, a story of a couple from two very different restaurant families in rustic Minnesota, and the legacy of love and tragedy, of hardship and hope, that unites and divides them

Mariel Prager needs a break. Her husband Ned is having an identity crisis, her spunky, beloved restaurant is bleeding money by the day, and her mother Florence is stubbornly refusing to leave the church where she’s been holed up for more than a week. The Lakeside Supper Club has been in her family for decades, and while Mariel’s grandmother embraced the business, seeing it as a saving grace, Florence never took to it. When Mariel inherited the restaurant, skipping Florence, it created a rift between mother and daughter that never quite healed.

Ned is also an heir—to a chain of home-style diners—and while he doesn't have a head for business, he knows his family's chain could provide a better future than his wife's fading restaurant. In the aftermath of a devastating tragedy, Ned and Mariel lose almost everything they hold dear, and the hard-won victories of each family hang in the balance. With their dreams dashed, can one fractured family find a way to rebuild despite their losses, and will the Lakeside Supper Club be their salvation?

In this colorful, vanishing world of relish trays and brandy Old Fashioneds, J. Ryan Stradal has once again given us a story full of his signature honest, lovable yet fallible Midwestern characters as they grapple with love, loss, and marriage; what we hold onto and what we leave behind; and what our legacy will be when we are gone.

Simple, homey, sweet

We listened to this story over a few days’ travel, and it was an enjoyable view into a Minnesota family’s restaurant business. Great descriptive detail, sweet telling of a family’s ups and downs over four generations. I’ve never heard of a supper club before this book, but I feel compelled to try to find one now.

Generational Love

Loved this story that crossed generations- some doing better than others, but each finding their way to happiness. Performance was key as reader changed voices making it easier to follow each characters story line as they went back and forth! Loved it!

overall a good read

This book was enjoyable, especially for those of us who have experienced supper clubs in the North Country of the USA. The Minnesota references were accurate.

Excellent

Looking forward for the next audiobook. I was at the GMA recording in mid May and was intrigued by the author I never heard off before. I am a fan now.

Every bit as excellent as his other novels

The story and writing are top drawer here, particularly for a resident of Minneapolis, MN. The only minor drawback is the narrator doesn't get all the pronunciations correct. Otherwise, highly recommended.