Of partings and promises

REVIEWS BY SANDY HUSEBY

Desperate for any remedy for her toddler's autism, Peggy Donaghue makes a fateful decision, moving from the security of her family in Cleveland to Ireland. In Emilie Richards's radiant new novel, The Parting Glass, Peggy's choice opens up more than her son's personality. The move is spurred by Irene, an aging Irish relative whose invitation for Peggy to share her last days promises meetings, revelations and fresh starts. Family secrets held dear for generations begin to play out as Peggy's move triggers challenges and new relationships. Her arrival in the wee Irish village forces Finn O'Malley to confront his own demons, including his guilt over the accidental death of his wife and sons and his inability to rekindle his close relationship with his daughter, Bridie.

Challenges abound for the family Peggy left behind in Cleveland, as well. A tornado during Megan and Niccolo's wedding celebration destroys the family saloon. The obsessions of rebuilding the saloon, as well as Niccolo's Brick, an organization meant to help wayward boys, almost destroys the couple's fragile new marriage.

As sisters, with their lives forever interwoven, Peggy and Megan now discover the long-hidden secrets of their family's Irish heritage. Emilie Richards presents us with a powerfully told story that will linger in the heart long after the final page.


On the road to romance

A heroine on the move in search of her own family heritage drives Betina Krahn's zesty new historical novel, The Wife Test. Once Chloe learns she was abandoned by a Gilbert, not a French resident of Guibray as she believed, she's determined to shepherd four Brides of Virtue from their sheltered existence in a French convent to new marriages to nobles in England.

Hugh of Sennet wants no part of Chloe or the other maidens, but he's honor-bound to give them safe escort to their new homes. From the start that honor is sorely tested, both by French soldiers determined to stop their journey by any means necessary and Chloe's enchanting temptations. The Wife Test is a delightful romp of a read that delivers joyous wit and comic action as Chloe realizes that starting a new family may hold more for her than searching for her past.


Through a painting, darkly

Plein air paintings, seemingly simple landscapes, are part of the layers of family secrets about to be laid bare in Elizabeth Lowell's compelling new romantic suspense novel, Die in Plain Sight. Lacey Quinn has a stash of her grandfather's unique paintings, which depict life, in simple pastoral scenes, and gruesome death, enacted in terrifying splendor. But are the paintings what they seem? Or are they forgeries to be protected from scrutiny? And why are the Savoy Ranch heirs so determined to get their hands on them?

Lowell captures with artistry the yin and yang of the competing conflicts that lure Lacey into what may be her own deathtrap—unless Ian Lapstrake is able to protect both her and the renowned artist Susa Donovan. Between the painted canvas and life itself, Lacey and Ian race against time to decipher the puzzles portrayed in oils and catch a dangerous killer determined to keep his secrets and his power. Riveting suspense from an acclaimed master.


Grinnin' like a gator

When Rachel Fortier decides to burn all her bridges—or rather, the exercise equipment her ex-fiancé gave her—and head for the swamps of Cajun Country, heady and sensuous sparks start flying in Sandra Hill's romantic comedy, Tall, Dark, and Cajun. With a zippy mouth as cracklin' as the fireworks she leaves behind, Rachel is more than ready to put Remy LeDeux in his proper place. And that's not in her bed, not in her swamp property, not in . . . oh, never mind. Just enjoy the belly laughs in this raucously grand adventure replete with colorful characters as unique as not-so-ditsy Great-Aunt Lulu and a grinnin' gator named Useless. This is one delicious treat that proves the best guys are bad, so bad they're good.


Sandy Huseby writes from Fargo, North Dakota and northern Minnesota.

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