Stranger in Paradise - Hardcover

Goudge, Eileen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786234466 ISBN 13: 9780786234462

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 2001

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Review

Doing what she does best, popular author Eileen Goudge has created the seemingly idyllic town of Carson Springs, along the golden coast of California near Santa Barbara. In Stranger in Paradise, the first novel in a new trilogy, the tranquil surface of Carson Springs unsuccessfully hides the murmurings of discontent; amid the gentle hum of the famous honeybee hives at the local convent, real problems exist. It's hard to believe that the wedding of Alice Kiley to her much older fiancé, Wes Carpenter, would presage the end of the comfortable existence of Alice's widowed mother, Sam, and her divorced older sister, Laura. But a dead car and a gatecrasher at the reception are only the beginning of the changes that will rock the Kiley family and the town of Carson Springs.

Sam catches a ride from the church back to the reception at her home with her new son-in-law's son, Ian Carpenter, the beach-boy-handsome artist, only to discover a hungry runaway girl named Finch stealing food. When Sam finds herself hotly pursued by a man young enough to be her son--her younger daughter's new stepson to boot--the temptation to say yes is just too great, and the encounter leaves Sam and Ian with a joint project in the making. Alice is horrified by her mother's actions, but her sister Laura is too busy trying to break through Finch's mistrust and heal her wounds to care. Sam, Alice, and Laura struggle against others' expectations of them and their own visions of each other. When a string of gruesome murders occurs, the darkness seething beneath Carson Springs' surface threatens to overwhelm the Kiley women and the men who love them. Goudge has produced another roller coaster of a read with Stranger in Paradise. Fasten your seat belts before you start this one! --Alison Trinkle

About the Author

Eileen Goudge is the author of The New York Times bestseller One Last Dance, and The Second Silence as well as Garden of Lies, Thorns of Truth, Trail of Secrets, Such Devoted Sisters, and Blessing in Disguise.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0786234466
• ISBN 13: 9780786234462
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 573