Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Hurricanes in Paradise-Denise Hildreth

Hurricanes in Paradise
Denise Hildreth
Tyndale, Jun 2010, $13.99
ISBN: 9781414335575

On Paradise Island, Bahamas, American expatriate Riley Sinclair is the Guest Relations Director at the luxurious Cove. She has three guests coming who require special treatment. Best-selling author Laine Fulton is planning a novel here and has just left her husband-agent Mitchell, who asked Riley to take care of her. Septuagenarian widow Dr. Winnie Harris, a principal, is on her first vacation without her late spouse in decades; her adult children ask Riley to watch over her. Beauty pageant winner Tamryn Carson has arrived to think about her future while mom is worried about her and asks Riley likewise.

The healing waters help the three guests with their troubles as a hurricane is coming so Riley arranges for her five yeat old daughter to leave the island to stay with her father in the States. Meanwhile even more soothing for the four women is a sisterhood bonding as each finds solace with the others while bringing different issues to the table. They will soon need one another with a hurricane and a vicious stalker bearing down on the island.

Hurricanes in Paradise feels like two novels in one starring the same four lead female characters. Much of the first half of the story line comes across as a deep character study as the audience gets to know the fears and flaws of each of the four feisty females. Towards the middle, the plot changes into more of an adventure thriller as the quartet face a hurricane and a nasty stalker. Throughout Denise Hildreth encourages her audience to remember when personal hurricanes hit people, they need to remember that “Each time I find myself flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race, That’s Life” (Frank Sinatra).

Harriet Klausner

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