Delinsky's dare is our delight
REVIEWS BY SANDY HUSEBY
One unalterable, life-shattering moment—a catastrophic boat-ferry collision—propels Julia Bechtel and Noah
Prine to explore the nature of their lives, and brings them together, in Barbara Delinsky's stellar novel,
The Summer I Dared. Julia's planned vacation on Big Sawyer Island becomes
a journey of self-discovery as she re-evaluates her relationship with her philandering husband and her bitter estrangement
from her parents. When her daughter Molly and then her father come to the island unexpectedly, Julia finally rebels
against the perfect, obedient roles she has lived for years. Attraction to Noah, a lobsterman who wrestles with his
own personal failures, gives Julia the courage to move away—literally, to Noah's retreat, and emotionally, from
the entangling family ties that have inhibited her own self-identity for years. Delinsky writes with the unstinting
clarity of a master about the painful, exhilarating relationships that tug at people who are given the opportunity to
take risks in their previously routine lives. Delinsky delivers a superb story that's both enriching and irresistible.
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Cooking up a rowdy tale
Cooking for a convent of nuns isn't exactly a dream job, but Julia of Childress longs for her own home and family
and believes the only way she'll ever get either is by taking on the unappetizing challenge of becoming the chef for
Griffin de Grandaise in Betina Krahn's merry olde tale, The Marriage Test.
Even Cyrano never faced the nasal woes endured by the hot-tempered Griffin, who's driven to wear a clip over his nose
because of his heightened sense of smell—a true curse for a man living amid the stables and the hygienically
challenged folk on his estate. Julia proves the truism that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. The
mouth-watering banquets she prepares are a reader's feast as well in this zesty medieval romp filled with canny
characters and leavened by the machinations of an avaricious neighbor. The appetites of heart and senses are joyously
filled in this robustly written treat.
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Risky business
Nicknamed for the free-spirited, high-soaring skylark, Laura Gardeyne feels only the burdens of widowhood and the desperation
to protect her young son in Jo Beverley's historical romance, Skylark. Laura
and her son live with her late husband's parents, Lord and Lady Caldfort. An apparent poisoning attempt makes Laura fear
that her brother-in-law, the vicar, may be planning to kill her three-year-old son, Harry, to usurp his inheritance. When
Laura sets out on a determined hunt for the one family member—long believed dead—who may be her son's salvation,
she turns to Stephen Ball for help. Stephen loved her once enough to propose, and now he's prepared to risk any danger to
keep her safe and make her his own. Beverley writes with absorbing zeal for the intricate mores of the times.
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All in the family
When your closest family friend is the president and your brother's just been shot in Central Park by a sniper,
questions will arise. As a historical archaeologist, Sarah Dunnemore should know that. But this is her family!
Deputy U.S. Marshal Nate Winter is convinced he's not getting all the answers from her in Carla Neggers' newest
suspense novel, Night's Landing. Ethan Brooker has questions of his
own, all revolving around the Dunnemore family. Why did his wife, Char, contact Sarah's mother just two days
before Char was killed? One man fixated on avenging his wife, the other determined to solve his friend's shooting
and protect Sarah make for powerful emotional suspense. Neggers excels at peeling back the layers of seemingly
ordinary family ties to reveal surprising secrets while ratcheting up the dangers they face with consummate intensity.
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Sandy Huseby reviews from Fargo, North Dakota, and northern Minnesota.
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