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Review by Jodi Israel
Jennifer Blake, a longstanding author of excellence, gets to push the envelope a little bit in Garden of Scandal. Laurel Bancroft is a 41-year-old recluse and has been since she inadvertently ran over her husband some years earlier. Alec Stanton is 31. He approaches Laurel about clearing her garden, and he's attracted to her from the first. Laurel doesn't want his help but something about his demeanor overrides her instincts.
This May-December romance would be ordinary if not for two things. Someone has it out for Laurel, smashing her sculptures, burning down her shed, and writing poison pen letters. The second thing is the Louisiana setting. Hillsboro is a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business and still waters often run very, very deep, even in 1997. An older woman with younger man is cause for gossip and censure.
This is a good choice if you're looking for an intense story.
Jodi Israel is a member of the Romance Writers of America and can be reached at jodi@tiac.net.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.
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