FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Bestselling author Nora Roberts explores the promise of second and third chances in Book Two of her In the Garden trilogy. This book belongs to Roz Harper, independent woman and owner of In the Garden, a nursery business in Tennessee. At age 45, Roz has mostly recovered from a short and disastrous second marriage, thanks to support from her sons and her surrogate family of friends and employees, all introduced in Blue Dahlia. Ready to start dating again, she embarks on a relationship with Mitch Carnagie, a man with his own set of issues in the past. He helps her view herself not as the victim of a failed marriage but as a black rose -- long, exotic, a little haughty, and most certainly, sexy. The progression of this older romance rings true, as do Roz's relationships with the younger women who work for her, and her son's first reaction to his mother's dating. The reappearances of the deceitful second husband and the Harper Bride, the ghost who haunts her historic home, adds to the plot, but the love story between Mitch and Roz is paramount. Readers who are gardeners will also enjoy the day-to-day detail of running a nursery. Ginger Curwen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Roz is a woman of independent means who thinks love is all in the past-but she's about to be taken by surprise.

Number-one bestselling author Nora Roberts presents the second novel of her In the Garden trilogy, as three women discover the secrets from the past contained within their historic home.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Book two of Roberts's In the Garden trilogy (following Blue Dahlia) ably showcases the author's many strengths, from her creation of appealing characters to her melding of the eerily paranormal with the delightfully down-to-earth. Rosalind Harper is the owner of a historic Tennessee mansion and the force behind the thriving garden business on its grounds. Widowed young and then scarred by an unwise second marriage, Roz has sworn off dating, instead inviting a collection of family, friends and their children to share her home. Unfortunately, the house is also inhabited by a mysterious ghost, known as the Harper Bride. Roz hires genealogist Dr. Mitchell Carnagie to track the Bride's identity, but the unpredictable and passionate relationship that develops between the two sets off still more malignant displays from the ghost. Roberts postpones the ghost story's resolution for the trilogy's end, but brings Roz and Mitch to a satisfying commitment complete with realistic power struggles and peace treaties among their various children. Roz's inherited privilege is off-putting at times, and her calm in the face of ghostly attacks seems far-fetched. Yet she remains a warmly appealing heroine, resolutely finding her path through a midlife romance that is more complex and hard-fought than 20-something love. Agent, Amy Berkower. (June) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

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