"Oh what a tangled web we weave..."
Model Lauren Simpson has given up her career, sworn off men
for a year, and moved to a small California town to
concentrate on raising her adopted son Jem, and to open her
own antique shop. When she advertises for a handyman to help
repair her house and barn, she expects to hire someone
local. She is surprised and dismayed to find a handsome,
sexy man who says he is just passing through waiting on her
doorstep asking for the job. She is reluctant to hire him,
in view of her vow to stay away from men -he is way too
handsome for her own good- but he convinces her to give him
a try. Besides, nobody else who is qualified has applied for
the job, and he will be gone as soon as the work is done. Cole Travis has a hidden agenda for wanting to work for
Lauren. He suspects her son Jem may be the son he only
recently found out that he had. He has been following up
leads and he needs a way to find out if Jem could be his
before he springs the truth on Lauren. If (as he suspects)
Jem is his, the least he can do for Lauren is help her get
her house and business fixed up before he breaks her heart
by taking Jem away from her. Cole's guilt grows as he becomes more involved in their
lives, and comes to care for Lauren as well as Jem. It is
going to tear him up to hurt her like he knows he will, but
he can't see a way around it- he will never get married
again and he is not willing to give up his son. TANGLED SHEETS, TANGLED LIES is Julie Hogan's debut novel,
and it is a very promising beginning to her career. I found
her writing style pleasant, with a nice mix of humor and
angst. The plot was interesting and believable, and I found
myself really rooting for this couple. The one stumbling
block to my enjoyment appeared when Cole came to his
inevitable fork in the road and the time came to tell the
truth or hide behind his secret. I was disappointed by his
choice, which I thought showed a certain lack of character.
Nevertheless, Ms. Hogan did a nice job of luring me in to
the story, and I was happy with the over-all outcome.
Reviewed by Janice Bennett
Posted February 23, 2003
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