LACHLAN'S WOMAN

by Alice Dwyer-Joyce ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 3, 1979

Through bursts of sentiment with an Irish lilt, Dwyer-Joyce tries, hopelessly, to hold an addled and free-form plot together. Lisha, daughter of the beloved missionary Dr. Mary, herself becomes a doctor--and follows her mother to the troubled African nation of Utonga, where arch villainess Mamma Massanga is terrorizing the land. Alas, by the time Lisha arrives, Mamma Massanga has already thrown Dr. Mary to the crocodiles. Dr. Mary becomes a symbol of martyrdom to both Africans and Europeans, and when Lisha uncovers the truth about her mother's murder, she also becomes a celebrity, followed by reporters and visiting with high officials, including the Pope. But meanwhile, back in Ireland, Mamma Massanga implausibly arrives to track down Lisha! With all this hyperactive action, there's not much room for romance--which is just as well, since Lisha's beau is excessively mysterious Lachlan, an agent of some sort who loves her but seems absorbed in his dead wife and has let his village go to seed. It all does end, somehow, with a happy pairing and Mamma M. capsizing in Irish home waters. Barmy.

Pub Date: April 3, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION