"A nice adult fairy tale"
In 1871 San Francisco, Rachel Connor feels gratitude
towards her spinster Aunt Edwinna for raising her at the
Sommerville Towers Hotel, but also feels like a bird in a
gilded cage. Rachel does anything her aunt wants of her
even if it means acting dumb and pretty while never
performing work at her relative's hotel except occasionally
singing. Edwinna selected Rachel's fiancé and the niece
meekly agrees to wed the older and highly respected Daniel. Roland Connor wants to destroy Daniel and sees the
vulnerable Rachel as the weapon of choice. He persuades
her to sneak out to enjoy life. However, once Edwinna
learns about her niece's nocturnal activities, she locks
the girl in her room before Rachel causes a scandal.
Rachel, now having tasted fun, uses a rope to be with her
now beloved Roland. He, too, is in love and wonders how to
inform her about his odious use of her without losing
Rachel. LET DOWN YOUR HAIR is an astutely drawn historical
romantic rendition of Rapunzel. The main plot is as good
as any recent sub-genre novel has produced because the
audience observes the machinations of Roland vs. the
innocent Rachel's growing awareness of love. A serial
killer sidebar adds tension to the mix, but takes away from
the prime triangle even if it tightly wraps the engaging
story line together. Fans of fairy tale translations into
adult romances and anyone who enjoys an Americana tale will
want to read Linda Jones' fine novel. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted October 4, 2001
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