With a Southern Touch: Adam/A Night in Paradise/Garden Cop by Jennifer Blake, Heather Graham, Diana Palmer

From the Publisher

Jennifer Blake, Heather Graham and Diana Palmer, well-loved voices of romance fiction, bring you three new stones of sultry Southern romance. With a Southern Touch will renew your faith in the power of love.

An eighth-generation Louisianian, Jennifer Blake says "few things have stopped the women in my family from doing what we think is important. 'Steel Magnolia' grit and determination are in our blood." Married at fifteen, Jennifer and her husband recently celebrated more than four decades of happily-ever-after.

"My mom and dad are Irish and Scottish respectively, so I'm a first-generation Floridian," says Heather Graham. "South Florida, has always been my home, and I love it —the sun, the water and the beach. My husband and I were high school sweethearts and we've raised (and are still raising!) five children here in the sunshine state."

"The women in our family are traditionally strong and independent, thanks to our Scottish-Irish heritage," Diana Palmer says. "And the characters in this story share this same heritage." A die-hard romantic, Diana Palmer married her husband five days after they met, and they have lived in northern Georgia ever since, raising a son and a menagerie of animals.

Publishers Weekly

Romances are ideal for beach reading, especially when they're broken into easily digestible chunks and seasoned with humor, as in these three novellas. The first entry, Blake's "Adam," describes the coming together of Lara Kincaid, a witch, and Adam Benedict, a high-tech information consultant. Although the verbal sparring between the two is entertaining, the story is weakened by a series of implausible situations not the least of which is the fact that the police ask a civilian to hunt for a murder suspect. There's lots of lighthearted fun in Graham's "A Night in Paradise," in which love blooms between two playwrights whose grandparents have decided to marry. Initially, Max Wulfson mistakes Aurora Beck for a gold-digging, much-too-young bride, but when he learns the truth, he manages to insinuate himself into her life. Law enforcement figures return in Palmer's "Garden Cop," the fast-paced story of vacationing FBI agent Curtis Russell. He comes afoul of his mother's pretty neighbor when he accuses her of growing marijuana and nearly gets himself arrested for destroying one of her tomato plants. Soon he and the feisty gardener, who turns out to be prosecutor Mary Ryan, are stumbling around the neighborhood together in an earnest but clumsy attempt to find a missing federal witness. With its deadpan wit and lively mystery, "Garden Cop" is the most satisfying of the entries, but all three succeed in evoking the ambiance of the sultry South. (June) Forecast: Given the popularity of the authors and the beach-friendly release date, With a Southern Touch is likely to hit the right note with its target readership. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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