"love story with an intriguing mystery and reincarnation"
Cassie Elliot, former child genius and recluse, writes
romantic novels under the pen-name Renata Trotter. She's
had eight successful books, all historicals, and her
publisher is darned if he'll see her throw away her career
on a new book that is a modern novel, taking place just
thirty years earlier. In fact, Jonathan Paxton is so
adamant about it that he discovers the identity of his
mysterious authoress and comes to her house to talk sense
into her. Unfortunately for him, he and Cassie feel an
instant connection that grows in spite of their animosity,
until the only thing the pair can think about is how they
can be together. Cassie has major concerns though, because
her books generally come to her in her dreams and she's
afraid that Jonathan will think she's crazy when he finds
out. When Cassie's grandmother takes ill, it is Jonathan who
uses his great wealth and connections to locate the only
doctor who can save her life and flies both Cassie and her
grandmother to New York City for the operation. It's a
success, and Cassie returns to Jonathan's apartment,
ultimately ending up a permanent resident in his bed and
his life. In spite of her fears, Cassie decides to marry
him, but the honeymoon is barely over when Jonathan
discovers Cassie's unfinished manuscript and realizes that
the thirty year old murder mystery Cassie is writing is
none other than the story of the murder of his beloved
aunt. At first he buys the explanation that the well-
publicized crime was something that Cassie must have read
about, but soon another explanation arises when his
psychiatrist friend Kyle hypnotizes Cassie and discovers
that all of Cassie's books were stories of actual women,
the women she used to be. Cassie's literary career is the
result of nine reincarnations, Kate, Jonathan's aunt being
the last of them. But unlike the historical books, most of the major players
in Kate's story are still around. Only her husband Adam is
dead, a suicide who had left a note pleading forgiveness
for his wife's murder. But did Adam really do it, or was
his death a cover-up for the real murderer? Cassie's
dreams
haven't shown her the truth yet, but she'd getting closer
to the end of the book and the ultimate exposure of the
criminal who's stayed hidden all this time. This was a well-done love story with an intriguing mystery
that's solved through a woman's visions of the past.
Cassie
is mostly unaware of her past selves, and Kyle and
Jonathan
avoid telling her, wanting to protect her as much as
possible. One of the issues Jonathan must face is that
it's
possible that when Cassie finishes her last book and her
souls become integrated, the new woman she'll be won't
love
him, but that doesn't stop him from helping her. Cassie is a troubled woman, who doesn't have so much a
split personality but a fractured soul. She needs to
finish
her writing to heal herself. In the beginning her
character
seems disturbed, first belligerent, then timid, attracted
to Jonathan but fearful as well. Once she settles into her
relationship with her husband, that ends and instead we
see
another Cassie, kind and gentle and who goes out of her
way
to get along with Jonathan's generally unpleasant family
and the servants in his home. Cassie loves her husband but will their love survive the
truth when her book is finished. That's the question. Janet Miller, Author © Copyright 2003
ForPNR Reviews
Reviewed by Janet Miller
Posted April 13, 2003
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