A messy tale of sisterhood, faith, and romance.
In this debut Christian novel, three sisters deal with love, jealousy, and treachery at a Hawaiian hotel.
Marisa Royal works around the clock as a partner at her Honolulu law firm, but when she gets a strange call from her sister Sissy, she must return to the Hawaiian island of Kalua. Sissy and the third Royal sister, Vanda, still live and work at the Kalua Royale Resort. Sissy suspects Vanda—who has been having a series of accidents—is in serious trouble. According to Sissy, these “accidents” might, in fact, be murder attempts by Vanda’s new boyfriend, Kerwin Patrick. Marisa and Sissy attempt to suss out the situation, but Vanda, who runs the day-to-day operations at the resort, resents Marisa’s interference. Meanwhile, Marisa encounters local playboy Stephan Armstrong, who is completely “smitten” with her, though she tells herself that men are at the bottom of her priorities list. Readers quickly gain insight into Kerwin, who is having an affair with Vanda’s best friend, Electra Mau, and is an atheist: “Kerwin did not believe in religion, or in God….He often said, ‘The only God I need is me.’ ” He is indeed trying to kill Vanda, but not before he gets the combination to the resort safe. As Stephan attempts to woo Marisa, she and Sissy must find a way to convince Vanda that Kerwin is up to no good before the con man achieves his goals. Lawrence succeeds in evoking the beauty and bustle of a tropical resort, and both the location and the bond between the sisters make for some fun moments. But the book is hindered by misused or missing words (“This time she sprung her left arm”; “She worked hard and maintained great reputation among her peers”) and highly stilted dialogue, as in this early exchange between Marisa and Stephan: “I’ve heard about this guy, and I’m anxious to find out if he has a negative motive for being a part of Vanda’s life. I am the sister who helps support them, and make sure they are doing well.” The rather thin plot is strung out over 370 pages, with little suspense or tension to fuel it.
A messy tale of sisterhood, faith, and romance.Pub Date: May 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64045-723-2
Page Count: 376
Publisher: LitFire Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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