A sweet, sexy romance with an intriguing historical family mystery that bleeds into a modern-day crime spree, casting...
A year after his wife was murdered, Eli Landon is leaving Boston for a fresh start in his family’s coastal ancestral home, possibly with Abra, the beautiful housekeeper he meets there who is determined to help him clear his name and reclaim his life.
Former defense attorney Eli Landon has lived under a cloud of suspicion since he found his murdered wife in their shared home on the same day they’d publicly argued over their impending divorce and her ongoing affair. While no charges have been brought against him, a dogged police detective has hounded him to the point of harassment, and he’s lost his job, most of his friends and his sense of place in the world. Moving into his family’s historical estate on Whiskey Beach to take care of the house while his grandmother heals from an accident in Boston, Eli devotes his energies to expanding a modestly successful writing career, attempting to write a novel. Meeting Abra, a local part-time housekeeper/massage therapist/yoga instructor/jewelry designer/waitress is an unexpected bonus, especially when she brings her healing energy to Eli’s wounded spirit. But something is not right at the homestead, and a string of accidents and crimes follows Eli to the coast. The longer he stays, and the closer he grows to Abra, the more convinced he is that in order to find peace and have a chance for happiness, he’ll need to fight back, solve an ancient family mystery and figure out who murdered his wife. Roberts brings her inimitably smooth writing skill, excellent characterization and textured plotting to her newest romantic suspense, which plays out as much a character drama with suspense elements as a crime procedural, since the buildup to and motive for the crimes is fairly languidly paced, though compelling.
A sweet, sexy romance with an intriguing historical family mystery that bleeds into a modern-day crime spree, casting suspicion on an innocent man.Pub Date: April 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-399-15989-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
The heartfelt soap appears to be Hannah’s chosen romance niche, and she mines it skillfully. (First printing of 125,000)
Hannah’s sequel to On Mystic Lake (1999) is yet another tear-jerker set in northwest Washington State.
Perfect mother Mikaela (“Mike”) Campbell takes a hard fall off a horse, hits her head, and sinks into a coma. In order to help bring her out of it, perfect husband-doctor Liam sits at her bedside and begins to talk to her about their life together. He brings her favorite music, scented potpourri, and, to place across her inert body, sweaters that may smell like home. He also tries to keep life as normal as possible for their two kids: Bret, nine years old, and Jacey, Mike’s teenaged daughter by her previous husband. Going through Mike’s closet to find a prom dress for Jacey, Liam stumbles on souvenirs of her first marriage and a picture of her ex—not just any old, anonymous first husband, but Julian True, a gorgeous superstar actor, the hero of women’s fantasies all over America. Liam has always known that he got Mikaela on the rebound; she was honest about the fact that he was not the love of her life. But she is the love of his life, and when she doesn't respond to the sound of his voice, he contacts Julian in hopes that the actor can save Mikaela. Julian travels up to Last Bend, a cutesy town founded by Liam’s larger-than-life father and filled with homey shops like the Emperor’s New Clothes store and Zeke’s Feed and Seed. When Mike finally comes out of unconsciousness and into her family’s emotional upheaval, she apologizes to Liam and bids goodbye to Julian. Yes, she’s discovered that it’s that gentle guy who stays with you through years of cramps and decorating the Christmas tree who defines what love really is.
The heartfelt soap appears to be Hannah’s chosen romance niche, and she mines it skillfully. (First printing of 125,000)Pub Date: April 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-609-60592-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
Uneasy mix of escapism and medical soap opera.
Another Nantucket beach read from Hildebrand (Nantucket Nights, 2001), this one set in a fabulous ocean-side restaurant where the heroine’s frothy romance competes with the specter of cystic fibrosis.
Adrienne Dealey arrives in Nantucket from Aspen, having drifted from one resort hotel job to another for the last eight years. Despite a complete lack of restaurant experience, debonair Thatcher Smith immediately hires her as his assistant manager at the eponymous Blue Bistro, which he owns with chef Fiona Kemp and which will shut its doors for good after this final summer season. Adrienne moves in with a friendly waitress, buys some new hostess outfits and proves a fast learner of the ins and outs of the restaurant business, her success aided by her natural good looks. Hildebrand introduces lots of mouthwatering food and keeps the champagne flowing for the not terribly colorful cast of customers and staff—the unhappy married couple, the studly bartender, the lonely rich guy, the ambitious pastry chef. The inevitable romance between Adrienne and Thatch is complicated by Thatch’s devotion to Fiona, with whom he eats dinner every night after the restaurant closes. And, frankly, in a charisma contest, Fiona in her apron would win over Adrienne in her designer frocks hands down. A graduate of the Culinary Institute, petite, fierce-eyed Fiona is a brilliant chef who could be a star on the Cooking Channel, but she avoids all publicity and never leaves her kitchen. Gradually, Adrienne realizes that Fiona is sick, a secret that must be kept so that diners aren’t frightened away. As the summer winds down, Adrienne and Thatch find themselves deeply in love, but Thatch’s devotion to the devoutly Catholic Fiona, who has her own married lover, never waivers, and he marries her in a hospital ceremony just before her death. Not to worry: now he’s an available widower.
Uneasy mix of escapism and medical soap opera.Pub Date: June 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-312-31953-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2005
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