Riordan tells a story simply and with straightforward charm. In these pages the reader encounters people living their lives as Americans do-bumping into each other at the store, tending to their animals, going to church suppers, worrying about invisible rodents in the ceiling and scary noises in the woods, yearning for love in the subtle ways we do. It is life lived as it should be. Riordan is also a great observer of human nature: Her characters are real people, totally human, totally believable. As I read her first book, I felt as if I knew Roger, the unapproachable coffee shop owner, Stella, the neighbor from hell, and other familiar characters. There is a special pleasure in meeting them again in a second book-like a reunion with old friends. Seeing their stories continue and their characters unfold makes for extraordinarily satisfying reading. Pali, the ferry captain, is developed in astonishing depth inGoats.

Part of what makes Riordan's work so enjoyable is what it lacks: In her pages you will not find angst-ridden self-examination, emotional fulminations and ventilations, boring and predictable fleshy passions and their consequences. There is no breathtaking drama, life-threatening horror, or clash of ideologies. -- The Human Life Review.