Sharon Pisacreta - Lisa Plumley
Pisacreta, Sharon - MAGIC AND MOONLIGHT (Leisure - 7/99) (4)
Setting: American Midwest, 1893
Salome Ruth Hall of Black Horse, Missouri expects her fiancé, Lyndon Whittier, to announce their engagement at the mayor's party; however, Lyndon is lovestruck with one of the mayor's wild daughters, a beautiful singer named Jane Dupree. He
informs Salome that he's going to become Jane's manager and
accompany her on her singing engagements until they reach the
Chicago Exposition, where they will announce their marriage.
Salome is devastated, and shortly after Lyndon departs with
Jane, she decides to become the exotic, alluring woman whom
Lyndon seems to prefer. She's not ready to throw away their
ten-year friendship and the future they had planned. Salome
resigns from her teaching position, and decides to join the
theater and somehow lure Lyndon back with her new image.
Julia Dupree, Jane's sister, suggests that Salome hook up
with Marco the Magnificent, a former lover of hers and an
accomplished magician who needs an assistant.
Even though Marc Cooper is desperate for an assistant, he's reluctant to take on the ex-school teacher because he doesn't think the theater is the right place for a lady. He needs someone whose obvious physical attributes, displayed in the brief, sexy assistant's costume, will attract the audience's attention. But Marc relents and Salome becomes his assistant. She is immediately attracted by his dark Portuguese looks, his muscled physique, and the long hair and earring he wears in true pirate fashion for his act, but since she's committed to Lyndon, she doesn't dwell on this attraction. Salome slowly learns the ropes (after some hilarious mistakes), and forms a friendship with Marc, and they eventually build the magic act into a successful, headlining show. But on their way to Chicago, they are faced with threats, treachery and havoc. Their lives are also threatened through the magical illusions.
Although their attraction grows, Salome stubbornly clings to the idea that she and Lyndon will get back together—even after she and Marc give in to their strong physical attraction for each other. I must say that I was irritated by Salome's unwavering devotion and longing for the man who had abandoned her, even with Marc very much in love with her. But after Salome and Marc finally make it to Chicago, these final chapters are brimming with magic as Ms. Pisacreta treats us to the sights and sounds of the World's Fair...as the transformed Salome meets up with Lyndon again. How she realizes and expresses her love for Marc is worth reading after all those times she longed for Lyndon! But Marc's and Salome's enemies make one last desperate attempt to separate them. (One word of caution for the squeamish: how one problem is brought to closure is shocking, but dramatically appropriate.) Finally, true love, MAGIC AND MOONLIGHT prevail.
Sharon Pisacreta blends romance and adventure with deft descriptions of life on the vaudeville circuit in the late 1900s, along with interesting facts and secrets about the magician's craft. This is a world I knew little about, and between my fascination for it and the intriguing characters and plot, I kept turning the pages at a steady pace. Rich, colorful, and gritty, MAGIC AND MOONLIGHT is a unique and absorbing read. ~Debora Hosey for Bookbug on the Web
Plumley, Lisa - LAWMAN (Zebra - 10/99) (4)
Setting: Arizona Territory, 1880s
Pinkerton Agent, Gabriel Winter, has a job to do. He needs to arrest stagecoach robber, Joseph Kearney—but first he must
locate Kearney and that's not going to be an easy task. When Gabriel finds the wanted man's daughter, Megan, she's not about to help him hunt down her father, especially when she believes he's innocent. Of course, Gabriel wonders if she could possibly
be an accomplice in these robberies.
Megan has been planning to open a dressmaker's shop, but those plans come to a sudden halt when she discovers her father has taken her funds. Convinced that he will try to double their money by gambling, she's afraid they will go broke and her dreams will go up in a cloud of smoke. Megan is shocked and worried when the Pinkerton detective arrives to put her father in jail, but she doesn't believe for one minute that he's guilty. Gabriel and Megan team up to search for her missing father, but each is determined to keep a watchful eye on the other. They find they can't fight the attraction that flares up between them, although they know a relationship could never work since Megan loves her father and doesn't want to see him in prison. Gabriel is the enemy, after all, and he plans to make sure Joseph Kearney never sees the light of day.
Travel back to the rugged Arizona Territory with Gabriel and Megan in this fast-paced, entertaining story. Lisa Plumley has a wonderful flair for writing romance and creating marvelous characters, and LAWMAN will leave readers craving for her next western adventure. ~Yvonne Hering for Bookbug on the Web
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