Role Playing

Living in the woods outside of Fool’s Falls, WA, makes it easy for divorced 48-year-old Maggie Le to hide away from, well, everyone. Maggie’s editing work and her favorite video games are more than enough now that her son Kit is off to college, although even she wonders if she’s starting to resemble her online gaming persona, Bogwitch, a little too closely. Maggie would rather spend time chatting with Otter, her new gaming partner, even though she suspects he’s probably decades younger than she is. When Maggie is called to help Otter in real life, however, she discovers that he’s Aiden Bishop, a sunny 50-year-old hospice nurse who’s come to Fool’s Falls to care for his mother. Though Aiden is still healing from a past engagement, he is drawn to the real Maggie, a fierce and kind person who could be his perfect match. While Elyse Dinh’s narration of Bogwitch and Otter’s online text exchanges sounds a bit robotic, she hits her stride once Maggie and Aiden meet IRL. Chris Brinkley, who narrates for Aiden, captures the rumbling, warm nature of this lovable character.