Tell Me Why by Stella Cameron

From the Publisher

Whenever Carolee Burns plays at Bistro Brandy, Max Wolfe is there. He is a silent observer in the smoky darkness, nursing a drink as Carolee's poignant music washes over him. He can't stop thinking about the mysterious woman at the piano.

At its peak, Carolee's celebrated career as a jazz pianist took her all over the world. Then, eighteen months ago, she dropped out of sight, emerging only occasionally to perform at this tiny suburban Seattle club.

Max had seen her play in New York, but it's here at Bistro Brandy that Carolee Burns—her music, her melancholy, her haunting face—works an irresistible magic on him. Drawn to her sadness, compelled to know the reason for her sudden withdrawal from an apaprently idyllic life, Max searches for answers to his questions...by going straight to the source.

Carolee won't talk about the ruin of her life: the sudden crashing end to her once-happy marriage, the agonizing estrangement from a daughter who needs her now more than ever, her ex-husband's vindictive behavior. Hiding herself away from everything and everyone has seemed the best way to regroup.

When Max Wolfe changes from observer to participant in Carolee's world, he becomes a temptation she doesn't want to resist. But even as Carolee delas with the irresistible consequences of allowing love back into her life, a tragedy reveals secrets that may change everything she believes about herself—jeopardizing her fragile hold on happiness...


About the Author

Stella Cameron is the New York Times/USAToday/Washington Post best-selling, award-winning author of sixty historical and contemporary novels and novellas. Each of her single-title releases has appeared on the WALDENBOOKS mass market, and romance lists, and on the BARNES AND NOBLE list.

Stella has won the ROMANTIC TIMES Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense and the ROMANTIC TIMES best Romantic Suspense of the Year Award. She has been a RITA finalist, and is the recipient of the Pacific Northwest Writers' Association Achievement Award for distinguished professional achievement and for enhancing the stature of the Northwest literary community.

Current titles include 7B, the third book in the 1820s Mayfair Square series (THE ORPHAN is the fourth book and due out in March, 2002), FRENCH QUARTER, KEY WEST, GLASS HOUSES, all contemporary romantic suspense novels, and the contemporary romantic drama, FINDING IAN. TELL ME WHY, contemporary romantic suspense, is due out in September (2001) and SLOW HEAT, a contemporary anthology is now on sale.

Crescent Blues - Patricia Lucas White

TELL ME WHY was wonderful, fast-paced, furious page-turner...and I wanted to really and truly hear Carolee play and meet Max Wolfe. A well thought story with surprising little twists and curve balls...finished it in one day."-Maureen Carmen the romance reviewer for the Philadelphia Inquirer Heart string tugging? .A wild read? .Could it be otherwise? .Once again Stella Cameron wields her magic..wildly tangled plot, the diverse and enchanting characters (including Digger, the pup), and the clearly defined setting (near Seattle) work together to provide a wonderful read.

Reviewing for The Belles and Beaux of Romance - Jane Bittles

It's almost like a mystery and designed to keep the reader on the edge of their seat-very engrossing.. A great group of well drawn characters....I just loved the book-an excellent read. ..Very revealing in that, in life, things are not always as they seem. There is more there than meets the eye. Don't miss TELL ME WHY!

Publishers Weekly

Prolific novelist Cameron (Glass Houses, Key West, etc.) plays on time-worn themes of betrayal, manipulation and semi-forbidden passion in her latest romantic thriller. World-famous jazz pianist Carolee Burns isn't even 30 when her professional success is overshadowed by the collapse of her personal life. After 10 years of marriage, her freeloading husband, Kip, suddenly dumps her and wins full custody of their 11-year-old daughter, Faith. Carolee is devastated, though her justification for not putting up a fight that she was too shocked by Kip's actions may seem rather weak to readers. One year later, Carolee all but retires and moves to suburban Seattle to be closer to her child. Here she meets hunky ex-football pro Max Wolfe, who wants nothing more than to show Carolee she can trust him. Though she tries to focus only on winning back Faith, and she is reluctant to jeopardize her chances by involving herself with a new man, she eventually gives in to her lust. Cameron constructs some rather steamy love scenes, but the affair begins so early in the book that there is little buildup of tension. But Kip, of course, reappears to stir up more trouble for Carolee and may even want her back. Cameron's prose is sometimes awkward ("she had to know what kissing him like she wanted him for lunch and dinner would do to him") but readers who enjoy lines like "most men looked good in a Stetson, with a film of healthy sweat on their bodies and a big, powerful horse between their thighs" won't mind. Short, reader-friendly chapters will appeal to browsers flipping through the book, and Cameron's fan base will almost certainly make this another bestseller. Author tour. (Sept.) Copyright 2001 CahnersBusiness Information.

Library Journal

Carolee Burns ended a wildly successful career as a jazz pianist when her husband sued her for divorce and gained sole custody of their daughter, claiming that Carolee cared more for her music than for her family. After a year of denial, Carolee resolves to find a way to regain her daughter, even if it means reconciliation with her ex-husband. When she meets Max Wolfe at one of her infrequent piano bar performances, she is immediately attracted but cautious, not wanting to jeopardize her chances of getting her daughter back. But their compatibility is undeniable, and, as her ex-husband's attacks grow from verbal abuse of Carolee to sadistic jibes at their daughter and, finally, physical violence, Carolee is thankful to have Max around. The reader might sometimes question characters' motivations as they quickly change from na ve to sharp or from sweet to savage, but this is an engrossing story for Cameron's fans, especially those who enjoyed Finding Ian and Key West. Kim Uden Rutter, Lake Villa Dist. Lib., IL Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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