Susan Plunkett
Plunkett, Susan - SOUL SURVIVOR (Jove - 12/99) (4+)
Roxanne Griffith has just buried her last living relative, her great aunt. At the funeral she feels someone staring at her, a very handsome man—who turns up on her doorstep the very
next day with a surprising story. Spencer Griffith (no relation) is a well-known restaurateur and CEO, as well as the head of Remembrance Foundation. The foundation's mission is to return the personal effects of MIAs and POWs from Vietnam, and Spencer is paying a call on Roxanne to do just that—deliver her father's personal effects. She is informed that Matthew Griffith's remains have also been found, and Spencer asks her where she wants them buried. Roxanne reacts negatively to this news because she never knew her father, and what she has heard about him hasn't been very good. She also remembers how his family treated her mother.
Unbeknownst to Spence, he not only delivers Matt's personal effects, he also delivers Matt's ghostly spirit. Roxanne's father has spent the last thirty years in the "Abyss of Loneliness," but he was told that if he rights two of the wrongs he did in life, he will have a second chance in the hereafter. If he doesn't, in six weeks (on Memorial Day) he will return to the Abyss for eternity. In life, Matt was a heedless, fun-loving, selfish man who only thought of himself, not what his wife, family, and friends wanted or needed. He has no idea how to go about righting his wrongs, but he is going to try. His is a painful journey and, initially, Roxanne doesn't want to help him—but he slowly wins her over. Spencer is by her side to help, if he can.
Susan Plunkett has written a highly emotional novel about personal growth, confidence, and learning and giving love and forgiveness. For those of us who remember the Vietnam War, SOUL SURVIVOR is a poignant reminder, a look back at the agony and hope families faced when a son or daughter was declared MIA or POW. But it is also an emotionally satisfying read because it conveys, in the end, the power of love...in all its guises. ~Beth Coogan for Bookbug on the Web
Plunkett, Susan - TIMEPOOL (Jove - 8/99) (4+)
Burned-out DEA agent, Requiem Maguire, is just coming off a two-year undercover assignment that nearly destroyed his humanity when he rescues Caladonia Hornsby from the surf near Monterey.
He believes she's a drug addict on a bad trip, especially when he hears her story. Claiming to be from the year 1890, Cally is following two men who had her father murdered. Req's first inclination is to take the young woman to a detox center and
leave her there, but he soon realizes she's just incredibly naive, innocent...and lost. Her ineptness at modern-day conveniences and her wonder at automobiles and other twentieth-century inventions goes along way toward convincing him that she's who and what she claims, although he's not fully convinced.
Req has his own set of problems. He is trying to stay alive long enough to testify against the drug dealer believed to be responsible for his fiancée's death. The longer he is with Cally, the more he realizes he's putting her in danger from the same forces that threaten him, so he proposes a marriage of convenience in order to give her some protection. He is abruptly and rudely disabused of this notion, however, when she is also threatened. Req is almost killed as well, which makes him realize he must take Cally and disappear.
Meanwhile, Cally figures out how she traveled from 1890 to 1990, and she's determined to go back to find her father's killer. Req believes he must protect her and he accidentally travels back in time, too. Now it's his turn to marvel at a society he has never known. The sexual tension between these two is ever present throughout the book, but especially when Req sees Cally with one of her father's partners, a man who wants to marry her.
One of the elements that makes this book special is watching Req regain his humanity through Susan Plunkett's wonderful prose and imagery. Another strong point is the plausibility of the time-travel element; the author makes the concept of time travel believable. She does not overburden the writing with minute, detailed descriptions; yet I could clearly visualize the people, places, and fashions, especially the changes in scenery from 1890 Monterey to modern-day Monterey. TIMEPOOL is a wonderful, satisfying story—one of the best time travels I've read in a long time. I have found a new author, a buy-on-sight, must-read author! ~Beth Coogan for Bookbug on the Web
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