Lori Handeland - Lynn Hanna - Kristin Hannah
Handeland, Lori - JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT (Precious Gems - 10/99) (1)
Megan Daily decides to follow her adventurous father into
Klondike gold rush territory. When Megan arrives, she is informed of Brian Daily's death and her inheritance: a dance
hall and a useless gold mine. Now alone in the world, she is befriended by a prostitute (constantly described in very gross terms) and other denizens of the dance hall. These women are more pathetic than sympathetic.
Northwest Mounted Police officer, Alex Carson, makes his entrance and suspects Brian of involvement in his sister's death. Unfortunately, not even a Mountie can save this story. When the hero is not being autocratic or horny, he is a wooden character who is not the least bit attractive. There is some other business with a villain and the suspicious death of Brian himself, but by the time the clues are unraveled, the reader is baffled and bored.
Lori Handeland has written a historical romance that should have been refreshing. Instead, it suffers from a lack of continuity and appeal, as well as some purple prose that could have used a heavier hand in the editing process. If you buy all the Mountie books that are published, you may want to add JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT to your collection. Otherwise, we'll hope for better from Ms. Handeland in the future. ~Anne Kirby for Bookbug on the Web
Hanna, Lynn - STARRY CHILD, THE (Onyx - 1998) (4)
Three years have passed since Alan Nielson, a caring father and wonderful husband, died. Alan's positive outlook on life brought energy and stability to anyone he touched. His widow Rainey has had to bury her own grief over the loss of her beloved spouse because their daughter Sasha has not coped at all with the loss of her idolized dad, who affectionately dubbed her the "Queen of the Woodland fairies." She has not spoken one coherent word since she learned that her father was never coming home again.
Sasha occasionally speaks in gibberish, leaving the medical profession and unsympathetic neighbors to believe that she should be committed to an institution. Rainey's friend, who never heard the child speak before, recognizes the gibberish as a form of Gaelic. She convinces Stanford University Linguistics Professor Matt MacInnes, who speaks fluent Gaelic, to visit the Nielson home. Shockingly, the little girl and the teacher easily communicate. However, Sasha's story is even more frightening as she describes the tale of a long dead Scottish princess whose mission on earth is being carried out by a small American child.
THE STARRY CHILD is one of the most imaginative love stories to have been published in several years. The mixing of the mystical myths of the Celts with modern-day California is brilliantly designed, making for a unique, crisp story line. The three main characters are all warm and real as they struggle to deal with a perilous inevitability that most likely will lead to their doom. If this is any indication of her creative juices, Lynn Hanna has a longtime destiny of her own as a very successful writer. ~Harriet Klausner
Hannah, Kristin - ON MYSTIC LAKE (Crown Hardcover - 4/99) (5)
Annie Colwater was living the American dream—or so she
thought. She had everything that mattered the most to her: a handsome and successful husband; a beautiful, loving daughter, and a gorgeous home with closets full of expensive clothes. But the fairy tale shattered. On the same day her daughter left home to spend three months in Europe, Annie's husband of 20 years abruptly announced that their marriage was over. Oh, he was very generous—she could keep the luxurious lifestyle he'd always provided; but Blake informed her, with the brutal honesty and knife-edge precision of the high-powered lawyer he was, that he loved someone else and needed his freedom to pursue the new relationship. Overcome by rejection, and reeling with self-doubt, fear and despair, Annie fled her Malibu home in order to find some surcease from the pain. Mystic Lake in Washington State held her past, as did the father who still lived there, but when she finally came "home again," she found she barely knew either one of them.
Mystic Lake police officer, Nick Delacroix, was living in a world of hurt. His life had disintegrated with the death of his young wife, and he seemed incapable of dealing with his six-year-old daughter and her very serious problems. Izzy had developed some strange behaviors and had simply stopped talking to anyone, resulting in a suspension from school. Nick found himself walking a very fine line between defeat and despair. Then Annie walked back into his life again... They'd had a relationship as teenagers, and when a mutual friend told her about Nick's desperate situation, Annie felt the need to reach out and help him and his daughter.
At first she wasn't sure if she had anything of value left to give, but her basic instinct to mother and nurture finally won out. Although the fact that she was still legally married—and Nick was an alcoholic—kept them on an impersonal level in the beginning, over time they almost became a family. Just when it seemed that the three of them would find their redemption in one another, Blake showed up at Mystic Lake. He wanted his compliant, complacent wife back. Amazed when she didn't act like the same Annie, or leap at the chance to take back her old life again, he soon became smugly satisfied when an unexpected twist in the plot persuaded her to return home. But with the blinders off, and the newfound feelings of self-worth and esteem bolstering her once damaged ego, Annie finally finds out what it really takes to have a happy, fulfilled life.
Whether she is writing contemporary or historical romances, Kristin Hannah does it with a creative flair that lights up the pages of every book. Her character-driven plots show human beings at their best, worst and everything in between. Simply said, I love her books and remember them long after the last page is read. ON MYSTIC LAKE is her hardcover debut, and it deserves every good word that will be said about it. Don't miss this compelling story from a truly fine author. ~Connie Ramsdell for Bookbug on the Web
NEXT PAGE
Background provided by Judi's Doodlings
Copyright © 1997-1999 Bookbug on the Web