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Summary
Summary
Caressed by the golden California sun, a perfectly round valley nestled in a ring of hills flecked with orange groves lies thirty miles or so east of Santa Barbara. Settled by the Spaniards four hundred years ago, it remains an idyllic, near-mystical site where the local convent still houses nuns whose prayers mingle with the hum of their famous honey bees. It is here that Eileen Goudge has set her new trilogy-in Carson Springs. Beneath the tranquil surface of Carson Springs disputes flare, feuds simmer, and secrets are guarded. In Stranger in Paradise, the opening novel, a woman's love for a much younger man ignites a blaze of disapproval. Goudge's legion of fans will be drawn irresistibly into the life of this beautiful, lush, unique valley, where family histories have dangerously deep and tangled roots.
Author Notes
Eileen Goudge was born July 4, 1950 and grew up in the San Francisco bay area. She began writing at the age of eight. At eighteen, she dropped out of college, ran off with a man dodging the draft, and got married. Two years later, she was divorced, with a baby, and had to go on welfare. She decided to become a professional writer, started writing non-stop and managed to sell a few articles. In the early eighties, she was chosen to help launch a new line of teen romances, which became the successful Sweet Valley High series. She now had enough money to end another bad marriage and move to New York City with her two children. She continued to write the Sweet Valley High titles while working on a novel. Her first novel, Garden of Lies, was sold in 1986 to Viking for nearly one million dollars. Since then, she has written over thirty novels for young adults and over ten works of women's fiction. Her other works include Thorns of Truth, The Diary, and Once in a Blue Moon. Her title The Diary is a New York Times bestseller.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
"A woman alone is no good to anyone" could be the rallying cry for bestselling author Goudge's kickoff to a new series, the Carson Springs trilogy (following One Last Dance). Situated east of Santa Barbara, Calif., Carson Springs and its Spanish-style architecture and orange groves provide the scenic backdrop for a tale about second chances, focusing on 48-year-old Samantha "Sam" Kiley and her daughters, Alice and Laura. As the story opens, Alice is about to marry Wes Carpenter, a Ted Turneresque entertainment mogul nearly 30 years her senior. Then Wes's son, Ian, takes a shine to Sam and the two become romantically involved, alarming Sam's daughters and setting the gossipy town abuzz. Laura, divorced because she couldn't bear children, and given to taking in strays, gets a new lease on life when she provides shelter for 16-year-old female runaway Finch, introduced to the reader in the prologue as being on the lam following a violent incident in Brooklyn. Goudge's fictional test of one of society's great inconsistencies that it's okay for a man to be with a much younger woman, but not the reverse is interesting, but the supposed scandal caused when Sam reveals she is pregnant is dated, given how increasingly common it is for older women to bear children. Despite Finch's dramatic appearance in the prologue, her story line is incidental, forgotten for long stretches of time and, when it is finally wrapped up, like everything else in this Fiction Lite territory, it's in a too-neat package. Agent, Susan Ginsburg of Writers House. (June 25) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Carson Springs, California, is a town draped in bougainvillea and nestled in rolling green hills, but enjoying the breathtaking scenery is not the only diversion the townspeople enjoy. Fresh gossip is always a welcome addition to a predictable day, and Sam Kiley provides just that when she falls in love with a much younger man. Sam is caught in a whirlwind of her true feelings, the expectations of two grown daughters, and fear of a town that might not forgive her indiscretions. Things become even more interesting when Sam's daughter takes in a willowy teenage runaway with a mysterious demeanor and a tight lid on her past. When the mangled body of a transient turns up in the hills, speculation as to who could be capable of such a murder has everyone's nerves on edge. Goudge's first installment in the Carson Springs trilogy is tinged with just the right blend of humanity, romance, and suspense to produce an intelligent page-turning read with a storyline that is enticingly unpredictable. --Elsa Gaztambide
Kirkus Review
A widow falls in love with a much younger man, then decides to bear his child in a paradise implausibly haunted by an avenging serial killer. As usual, Goudge (The Second Silence, 2000, etc.) adds a touch of suspense to a tale of a woman finding her strength. This time, the first of a projected trilogy set in Carson Springs, a California Shangri-la with Spanish architecture and flowers everywhere, begins with a runaway and a wedding. Goudge then energetically goes on to make the connections, some strained, that will corral everyone together for the wrap-up. Finch, a teenaged runaway who has witnessed a murder, flees New York and finds herself part of the wedding as Samantha Kiley's younger daughter, Alice, marries much older media tycoon Wes Carpenter. Tenderhearted Laura, the eldest Kiley daughter, takes Finch home to her small ranch to join the other strays, including octogenarian Maude and countless animals. Meanwhile, Samantha talks to Wes's 31-year-old son, Ian, an artist who invites the beautiful 48-year-old widow out on a date. Deeply attracted to each other, the two are soon passionately in love. The affair shocks Alice, a TV producer, and Laura, divorced and unable to bear children of her own, both of whom idolized their dead father. They are further appalled and angry when Samantha announces she's pregnant and has decided to keep the baby, even though she eventually breaks with Ian because of the age difference. Two people are discovered brutally killed, and Finch, who has finally found a home with Laura, fears the police may suspect her. When tracked down by the NYPD, she runs away to a nearby convent, where she sees the killer setting out and alerts the nuns, just as Samantha alone faces the murder-bent intruder. An agreeable page-turner despite the creaky plot and clunky prose.
Library Journal Review
Goudge launches a new trilogy set in lush Carson Springs, CA, with the story of a woman's passion for a much younger man and the havoc it wreaks. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
