"A moving tale"
In 1972, ten years old Eli Wade and his family enter
Burnt Stand, North Carolina by pushing their broken down
car into town. Though three years younger than Eli,
Darleen Union, heir to the Hardigree Marble Company that
owns the town, knows they belong together. They become
friends until someone murders Darleen's Aunt Clara. Though
not solved, everyone blames Eli's dad forcing the Wades to
leave town. Twenty-five years later Darl, a defense attorney for
the downtrodden, and Eli, a very successful reformed
gambler, meet again in her hometown. Though still in love,
but adult style, Clara's murder keeps Darl and Eli from a
permanent relationship. In front of him, she digs up her
aunt's grave that she helped dug twenty-five years ago so
that Eli can learn the truth. STONE FLOWER GARDEN is filled with twists and turns so
that each time the audience feels they grasp the tale, a
new angle appears. This gives the story line extra oomph
so that the reader has more than just a steamy southern
romance. Though the era seems wrong to contain the
southern dynasties that ruled one-company towns, the charm
and angst of the lead characters manage to overcome that
counter-anachronism. Deborah Smith provides her audience
with a four-tissue box tearjerker that never eases off the
high emotional tension of the plot until the climax. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted December 22, 2001
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