WITHOUT REPROACH

Author: Janet Woods ISBN: 9780727867049 1/2009 (U.S.) CONTEMPORARY Publisher: SEVERN HOUSE

The death of Charlie Parker exposes a web of deceit. Wife Lauren finds herself providing for Charlie’s newly discovered teenage daughter, as well as caring for her mother-in-law, Betty. Recently bankrupt, they rent an isolated cottage in Dorset with Kate, who is expecting a child, the result of an assault. Meanwhile DI Theo Ransom is investigating the affairs of Charlie, but can’t fight his feelings for Lauren. . .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Lauren Parker is about to get the shock of a lifetime when her husband Charlie dies in a car accident. Not only was he traveling with a strange woman, but all of a sudden investigators are showing up at her house and accusing her husband of all sorts of horrible things. Charlie had big secrets, secrets no one ever thought possible, and now everything that Lauren thought she knew is blown away in one big pile of ash. Now, loaded down with whatever money she can manage to hide from the investigators that are sniffing around her, and with a car full of Charlie's ungrateful relatives, Lauren heads out of town and says goodbye to everything that was familiar to her.

The best thing about WITHOUT REPROACH is that the whole book is about redemption. It is about learning to love and trust again when life destroys everything you have ever known.

This book is about three strong, wonderful women and their ability to learn how to love life and each other. Thrown in along the way is some great romance that adds a little something extra to the book—the book wouldn't have been the same without it!

Janet Woods is always a must read for me, and WITHOUT REPROACH proves once again how phenomenal of a writer she is!

Kristal Gorman