Set in Texas, the Rockies and L.A., the story of a small-town girl with a heart of gold and a Hollywood heartthrob with a past— in a sizzling sequel to Paradise (1991). At age 18, Zach Benedict is banished from his home by his dowager grandmother, who has reason to believe he shot and killed his brother. Zach, tall, strong, proud, and staggeringly handsome, hitchhikes to Hollywood and within a few years becomes a star leading man and a promising director. Then, on the set of his latest movie, his unfaithful wife Rachel is shot; Zach is convicted of the murder and sent to prison in Texas. Five years later, he stages an escape, inadvertently taking a hostage—Julie Mathison, 26, adopted daughter of a Texas Baptist minister, beloved elementary-school teacher, and untrammeled virgin. Zach heads out for Colorado, where his one remaining loyal friend, Matt Farrell, protagonist of Paradise, owns a mountain house. For a few days, Zach and Julie hide out and fall in love—and unleash pages and pages of stormy passion. Then they must part—Julie to return home, Zach to continue running from the law. But a series of new murders throws Julie's certainty that Zach is innocent in doubt. Could he be guilty? Insane? Can his grandmother cast any light on his motives? If Julie helps to capture him, will the killing stop? It does stop, but Zach is also proved innocent, and the lovers' reconciliation, delightfully delayed by doses of haughty pride mixed with passionate longing on both sides, finally takes place in a Texas chapel as Barbra Streisand sings the wedding march. A mixture of virtue and passion that is almost—ahem—perfect. (Book-of-the-Month Dual Selection for June)
Pub Date: May 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-671-79552-X
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Pocket
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005,...
Murder mixes with anguish in steamy Savannah.
FBI-trained hostage negotiator Phoebe MacNamara is a lieutenant in the Savannah police department. Ever since Phoebe and her family were held hostage when she was 12, her mother has been agoraphobic, and Phoebe and her brother Carter still bear the psychological scars, but Phoebe’s used the memory to hone her skills. While talking a suicidal bartender off a ledge, she meets his boss, Duncan Swift. The charming millionaire coaxes her into meeting for a drink, and their relationship slowly deepens. But life takes a turn for the worse when a misogynist cop botches a hostage situation. Suspended, he blames Phoebe and retaliates by viciously attacking her in the precinct house stairwell. He loses his job, but his father’s connections keep him out of jail. Phoebe is physically and mentally injured, but her family and her blossoming relationship with Duncan help her cope until a dangerous pattern develops: A strange man keeps crossing her path. Dead animals begin appearing on her doorstep. A hostage taker is shot after she talks him into surrendering. Her ex-husband is brutally murdered by the mystery man, who phones her with sadistic threats. Is it the spiteful disgraced cop or someone from her past? Phoebe must identify the killer before he can carry out his final outrage.
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005, etc.).Pub Date: July 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-15434-8
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2007
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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