On Christmas Eve 1977, Zoe Smith used her small, pearl-handled revolver to commit suicide. She left behind a bereaved husband and four little daughters to suffer the consequences of her selfishness. "Sisters & Secrets" tells the stories of the effect of suicide on these four sisters.
For this unique novel, Onyx brought together four highly acclaimed novelists in the romantic suspense genre: Katherine Stone, Anne Stuart, Donna Julian, and Tulsan Jodie Larsen. The significance of the number four echoes throughout the book. It is written in four parts, takes place in four diverse locales, four seasons, and each segment concerns one of the four sisters haunted by their mother's suicide.
The connecting thread in their lives is the delicate silver revolver which their mother used to kill herself. The gun has been inherited by the eldest daughter, Lauren Smith, who after finally facing the truth of her mother's suicide passes the gun on to her siblings. As each sister takes possession of the weapon that holds so much meaning for them all, she experiences danger, revelation and love.
Katherine Stone, of Seattle, Washington, is the bestselling author of 12 novels including "Happy Endings" and "Pearl Moon." Stone reveals Lauren's story. Dr. Lauren Smith is beautiful, of course, and is a successful radiologist. Unfortunately, her private life is neither beautiful nor successful. After yet another failed relationship with a man of her dreams, Lauren seeks refuge and reflection in a Pacific Northwest resort. Here, along the flower strewn walkways, she finds herself a primary suspect in a life threatening mystery. Stone's tale is deftly drawn and filled with suspense.
Anne Stuart, of Vermont, is celebrating 20 years as a novelist and specializes in her own brand of romance, suspense and black humor. She has won every major award in the romance genre. In the telling of Ardath's story, Stuart shows this sister to be as fiery, artistic, and impractical as her mother had been. And if Ardath doesn't do something about the dubious legacy that haunts her, she may also die by her own hand before her thirty-fifth birthday. Stuart once again brings her characters to life in a tale that tingles the nerves and has a twist at the end to
delight the most exacting mystery buff.
Donna Julian, who makes her home in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, is also an award winning author of eight novels. Don't miss her latest, "Bad Moon Rising." Julian relates Dinah's story. This next to the youngest sister is an attorney with a punch. She's a real lady of the 90's and takes satisfaction in besting her male adversaries in the court room. Divorce is her specialty and she's won more cases for her clients than she can count. It is just possible she's won one too many. Suddenly she finds herself the target of a death threat not even she can ignore. Julian mixes romance with suspense and takes it to the wire with an ending that will make your hair sizzle.
Last but most certainly not least, Jodie Larsen of Tulsa, the acclaimed author of "Deadly Company" and "Deadly Silence," steps on stage. Larsen rounds out the sisters' stories as she offers up Yardley's adventure. Yardley, in the spring of 1998 is having a busy season as a Tulsa Real Estate Agent. Little does she know that all the fears and turmoil of her yesterdays are about to culminate in one horrific moment at the hands of a serial killer. Yardley has enjoyed about as much success in her love life as her older sister Lauren. For over a year, Yardley, who has been invisible to anything with a Y chromosome, finds herself with two very eligible men beating down her door. Humor, suspense, and murder most foul, will keep readers entranced as Larsen spins her surprising conclusion.
Just as the book jacket promises, ". . . Stone, Stuart, Julian, and Larsen have created an unforgettable portrait of four women shadowed by their past, but ready to embrace a future filled with the promise of hope, forgiveness, and love."
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(Jones is a published writer & literary critic)
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