Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley is a long way from Hollywood. And that’s exactly how Cilla McGowan wants it. Cilla, a former child star who has found more satisfying work as a restorer of old houses, has come to her grandmother’s farmhouse, tools at her side, to rescue it from ruin. Sadly, no one was able to save her grandmother, the legendary Janet Hardy. An actress with a tumultuous life, Janet entertained glamorous guests and engaged in decadent affairs,but died of an overdose in this very house more than thirty years earlier. To this day, Janet haunts Cilla’s dreams. And during waking hours, Cilla is haunted by her melodramatic, five-times-married mother, who carried on in the public spotlight and never gave her a chance at a normal childhood. By coming east, rolling up her sleeves, and rehabbing this wreck of a house, Cilla intends to find some kind of normalcy for herself.
Plunging into the project with gusto, she’s almost too busy to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer, but his lanky form, green eyes, and easy, unflappable humor (not to mention his delightfully ugly dog, Spock) are hard to ignore. Determined not to perpetuate the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford’s quirky charm, but she can’t help indulging in a little fantasy.
But love and a peaceful life may not be in the cards for Cilla. In the attic, she has found a cache of unsigned letters suggesting that Janet Hardy was pregnant when she died and that the father was a local married man. Cilla can’t help but wonder what really happened all those years ago. The mystery only deepens with a series of intimidating acts and a frightening, violent assault. And if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may, like her world-famous grandmother, be cut down in the prime of her life.
I think I’ve read almost every book that Nora Roberts has written. With each book that is released, my admiration for her ability to write something that is new and fresh just goes up. How does she do it?
Former child star, Cilla McGowan, has left Hollywood behind and found her calling in renovating old houses. Moving to Virginia, Cilla has taken on her biggest project yet, which is restoring the farmhouse her famous grandmother found refuge in so many years before. Though she never met her grandmother, Cilla has grown up hearing stories about the legendary Janet Hardy. Believing that she is doing something her grandmother would want her to do, Cilla pours her heart and her soul into turning the farmhouse into a place that she can call home.
Ford Sawyer is fascinated by Cilla when she first moves in. A writer of graphic novels, Ford is so inspired by Cilla that he creates superhero based on her. A man used to moving at his own slow pace, Ford is surprised at his attraction to this woman that seems to never stop moving. It doesn’t take long for Ford to see that beyond the tough-as-nails exterior, Cilla is all woman. He also knows that he doesn’t want to let her go, something he decides might be best kept to himself. For now.
When Cilla discovers old love letters written to Janet hidden in the attic, she starts to wonder if there was more to Janet’s suicide than grief. Cilla gives it little thought until her home is repeatedly vandalized and she starts receiving disturbing messages. Cilla is pretty sure she knows who is behind the vandalism, though Ford isn’t as sure.
Roberts also has some of the best dialogue. This is just one of my favorite conversations between Ford and Cilla.
“You’re going to be my handyman?”
“I’m pretty damn handy.”
“Will you wear your tool belt, and a really short skirt?”
“Tool belt, yes. Skirt, no.”
“Damn it.”
“If I can’t fix it, I’ll send one of the guys over. Maybe one of them will wear a really short skirt.”
“I can always hope.”
“Deal?”
“Deal.”
I think one of the things that made me love this book as much as I did was that the stereotypical male/female dynamic was completely reversed here. Cilla was the one that used power tools. She was the one that put things together and then fixed them when they broke. Ford hates having any sort of schedule and sleeps in until 10. He won’t touch any sort of tool b/c he knows that he’ll end up breaking something. He was a self-professed geek and he embraced it. Cilla and Ford didn’t try to be anything other than themselves. I loved reading the scenes of them together. Here’s another classic dialogue between the h/h.
“Okay. We need to get out of the house now.”
“We do?”
“Yeah. Because I could talk you into bed now, and I really want to. Then we’d both wonder if it was because you had a bad day and I was just here. Angst and awkwardness ensue. So…let’s go get ice cream.”
Another key word that had Spock deserting bear and bed and leaping up.
Smiling, she stroked her fingers down Ford’s jawline. “I want you to talk me into bed now.”
“Yeah. Shut up. Ice cream. Let’s go.”
He grabbed her hand, pulled her along. The dog passed them at a run in a race for the front door.
“You’re a confusing man, Ford.”
“Half the time I don’t understand myself.”
Roberts writes relationships extraordinarily well. Not just the one between the hero and heroine, but between father/daughter, sister/sister, etc. Cilla had definite hangups from her childhood. With a mother like hers, it wasn’t all that surprising. Yet it was the relationship between her and her father that was really great to read. I loved seeing how they overcame the past.
Ford’s dog, Spock, is possibly one of the best dogs ever written.
Oh and I totally figured out whodunit before it was revealed! No, really.
4.5 out of 5.
This book is available from Putnam. You can buy it here.
You’re soo lucky to have read this book already!! I’m glad you like it and I enjoyed the bits you put up so far 🙂 which is a huge relief, cos I went NR website for the excerpt and found it confusing… not very appealing to read 🙁 so I’m glad… and Spock sounds like an awesome dog!! 😀