"The Ugly Duckling turns into a Beauty"

Mara Simon comes to town in her Hollywood persona ready to do battle to make a movie. She was the shy, homely, gawky studious girl in high school but now, after Hollywood makeovers, she is tall, blonde and beautiful. She confronts her old boyfriend, T.J., and he doesn't even recognize her but he does find her disturbing to his libido. Mara has recently divorced her producer husband, Sid, and in order to buy the studio from him, she must make a good movie and come within or under budget to make enough money to attain her goal.

T.J. is a famous forensic anthropologist and when he finds two old skeletons on the beach after a hurricane, he examines the bones and the site to determine who they could be and what happened. He has a grant from the government so when he cordons off the area, Mara is unable to get her movie equipment to the shore to start filming. T.J.'s brother, Jared, and wife, Cleo, live nearby and are hoping to keep their beachfront property void of reporters and Hollywood personnel. Mara finds T.J. even more captivating than she did in high school and he, in turn, is fascinated with her mind, not to mention her other attributes.

MC CLOUD'S WOMAN is a light-hearted and comical story of Mara Simon, a wise-cracking intelligent woman who has learned the power of flaunting her beautiful body to get what she wants. She wants to become financially independent by making the movie but is thwarted by her old friend T.J. as well as her ex-husband. There is also a background story regarding her brother, Brad, who committed suicide leaving Mara and T.J. with feelings of guilt and T.J.'s involvement with his friend, Col. Martin, whom he knew in Kosovo. The McCloud brothers are quite a delicious group. Cleo and the charming Jared and brother, Clay, make a good addition to the cast of characters as the story develops and comes to a satisfactory conclusion.

Reviewed by Marilyn Heyman
Posted March 26, 2003

Summary

The irresistible force meets the immovable object:

TJ McCloud, a media-wary forensic anthropologist attempting to avoid a national security scandal crosses the path of a publicity hungry old flame, Mara Simon, who intends to save her film production company by promoting the secluded island that has secured TJ's privacy-until now.

Together, as natural enemies and lovers, they must question the loyalties that have directed their lives, delve into secrets hidden in the past, and forge new ties before they can find the love and happiness they lost long ago.