Stranger in Paradise

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Doing what she does best, popular author Eileen Goudge has created the seemingly idyllic town of Carson Springs, along the golden coast of California near Santa Barbara. In Stranger in Paradise, the first novel in a new trilogy, the tranquil surface of Carson Springs unsuccessfully hides the murmurings of discontent; amid the gentle hum of the famous honeybee hives at the local convent, real problems exist. It's hard to believe that the wedding of Alice Kiley to her much older fiancé, Wes Carpenter, would presage the end of the comfortable existence of Alice's widowed mother, Sam, and her divorced older sister, Laura. But a dead car and a gatecrasher at the reception are only the beginning of the changes that will rock the Kiley family and the town of Carson Springs.

Sam catches a ride from the church back to the reception at her home with her new son-in-law's son, Ian Carpenter, the beach-boy-handsome artist, only to discover a hungry runaway girl named Finch stealing food. When Sam finds herself hotly pursued by a man young enough to be her son--her younger daughter's new stepson to boot--the temptation to say yes is just too great, and the encounter leaves Sam and Ian with a joint project in the making. Alice is horrified by her mother's actions, but her sister Laura is too busy trying to break through Finch's mistrust and heal her wounds to care. Sam, Alice, and Laura struggle against others' expectations of them and their own visions of each other. When a string of gruesome murders occurs, the darkness seething beneath Carson Springs' surface threatens to overwhelm the Kiley women and the men who love them. Goudge has produced another roller coaster of a read with Stranger in Paradise. Fasten your seat belts before you start this one! --Alison Trinkle

From Publishers Weekly
"A woman alone is no good to anyone" could be the rallying cry for bestselling author Goudge's kickoff to a new series, the Carson Springs trilogy (following One Last Dance). Situated east of Santa Barbara, Calif., Carson Springs and its Spanish-style architecture and orange groves provide the scenic backdrop for a tale about second chances, focusing on 48-year-old Samantha "Sam" Kiley and her daughters, Alice and Laura. As the story opens, Alice is about to marry Wes Carpenter, a Ted Turneresque entertainment mogul nearly 30 years her senior. Then Wes's son, Ian, takes a shine to Sam and the two become romantically involved, alarming Sam's daughters and setting the gossipy town abuzz. Laura, divorced because she couldn't bear children, and given to taking in strays, gets a new lease on life when she provides shelter for 16-year-old female runaway Finch, introduced to the reader in the prologue as being on the lam following a violent incident in Brooklyn. Goudge's fictional test of one of society's great inconsistencies that it's okay for a man to be with a much younger woman, but not the reverse is interesting, but the supposed scandal caused when Sam reveals she is pregnant is dated, given how increasingly common it is for older women to bear children. Despite Finch's dramatic appearance in the prologue, her story line is incidental, forgotten for long stretches of time and, when it is finally wrapped up, like everything else in this Fiction Lite territory, it's in a too-neat package. Agent, Susan Ginsburg of Writers House. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Goudge launches a new trilogy set in lush Carson Springs, CA, with the story of a woman's passion for a much younger man and the havoc it wreaks. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Carson Springs, California, is a town draped in bougainvillea and nestled in rolling green hills, but enjoying the breathtaking scenery is not the only diversion the townspeople enjoy. Fresh gossip is always a welcome addition to a predictable day, and Sam Kiley provides just that when she falls in love with a much younger man. Sam is caught in a whirlwind of her true feelings, the expectations of two grown daughters, and fear of a town that might not forgive her indiscretions. Things become even more interesting when Sam's daughter takes in a willowy teenage runaway with a mysterious demeanor and a tight lid on her past. When the mangled body of a transient turns up in the hills, speculation as to who could be capable of such a murder has everyone's nerves on edge. Goudge's first installment in the Carson Springs trilogy is tinged with just the right blend of humanity, romance, and suspense to produce an intelligent page-turning read with a storyline that is enticingly unpredictable. Elsa Gaztambide
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


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A widow falls in love with a much younger man, then decides to bear his child in a paradise implausibly haunted by an avenging serial killer. As usual, Goudge (The Second Silence, 2000, etc.) adds a touch of suspense to a tale of a woman finding her strength. This time, the first of a projected trilogy set in Carson Springs, a California Shangri-la with Spanish architecture and flowers everywhere, begins with a runaway and a wedding. Goudge then energetically goes on to make the connections, some strained, that will corral everyone together for the wrap-up. Finch, a teenaged runaway who has witnessed a murder, flees New York and finds herself part of the wedding as Samantha Kiley's younger daughter, Alice, marries much older media tycoon Wes Carpenter. Tenderhearted Laura, the eldest Kiley daughter, takes Finch home to her small ranch to join the other strays, including octogenarian Maude and countless animals. Meanwhile, Samantha talks to Wes's 31-year-old son, Ian, an artist who invites the beautiful 48-year-old widow out on a date. Deeply attracted to each other, the two are soon passionately in love. The affair shocks Alice, a TV producer, and Laura, divorced and unable to bear children of her own, both of whom idolized their dead father. They are further appalled and angry when Samantha announces she's pregnant and has decided to keep the baby, even though she eventually breaks with Ian because of the age difference. Two people are discovered brutally killed, and Finch, who has finally found a home with Laura, fears the police may suspect her. When tracked down by the NYPD, she runs away to a nearby convent, where she sees the killer setting out and alerts the nuns, just asSamantha alone faces the murder-bent intruder. An agreeable page-turner despite the creaky plot and clunky prose.


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