|
On
her deathbed, Sarah Barker's grandmother told Sarah to make up a list of
things to wish for from life. Eight-year-old Sarah did that, adding to
the list as she got older, forgetting to cross out the things she didn't
want anymore. When the first of her wishes comes true, Sarah realizes
she's gotten more than she bargained for.
Sarah wakes up one morning in
Las Vegas
with a void in her memory and a husband lying beside her. As if that
shock wasn't enough, she soon realizes that the man she married has the
same name as the boy she wished to marry when she was eight years old.
She blames the irrationality of her choice on the wish list, not able to
explain what made her marry a man (aside from his name) she'd never met
before.
Jim Taylor knows he's found the woman of his dreams and can't believe
his good fortune. In spite of her lack of memory over their brief
courtship and subsequent marriage, he's determined to keep her as his
wife. There's only one hitch, he has to keep her alive first.
From the first morning of their married life, Jim and Sarah find
themselves on the run from hit men. After living quietly on the lam for
several years, Jim has been found out and now the man who wants him dead
is determined to get his way. In spite of her rude awakening, Sarah
finds herself drawn to this mysterious man, seeing his finer points
through his obvious pitfalls. The more she discovers about his past,
his motives and his family, the more she comes to care for Jim, standing
by him in the face of death and life on the run. Their flight takes
them from Vegas to California back to Louisiana, meeting a cast of
characters along the way that protect them and threaten them in their
struggle to be free of Jim's past.
TANGLED WISHES is an action packed adventure that grabs you right from
the start and carries you through to the end; a well-crafted story that
takes your emotions from denial, through confusion, fear, and finally
affirmation. Thumbs up to Debbie Clardy on her debut novel and I look
for more from this excellent storyteller.
Reviewed by Karla Lang
for The Road to Romance
February 15, 2004 |
