"This one has it all - humor, drama, romance, action, and a wonderful cast of characters."

All widow Grace Vance wants is to be left alone to mourn her beloved husband, a federal agent who became a hero when he died stopping a mad bomber's scheme. But Stone Senterra, Hollywood action star, thinks Harper Vance's story is the perfect vehicle for his debut as a "serious" director.

When his entourage invades the small, quiet town of Dahlonega, Georgia, Grace is determined to send him right back to La-La Land. What she doesn't expect is the appearance of Boone Noleene, Stone's bodyguard, who upsets not only her scheme to get rid of the filming crew, but her idea that she can never love again. Meanwhile, Boone secretly cheers for Grace's efforts while outwardly maintaining his loyalty to Stone. It's not long before his admiration grows into something deeper, however, and he must choose sides. He loves Grace, but how can a man who's spent too much time on the wrong side of the law replace a hero?

This story has a bit of everything - humor, drama, romance, action - with a cast of wonderfully eccentric characters surrounding Grace and Boone (both of who share their experiences through separate narratives that are both funny and poignant). There are two beautiful love stories as well - Grace and Harper in the past and Grace and Boone in the present - that will touch your heart. I was completely charmed by this book and I think you will be, too!

Reviewed by Lenore Howard
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted February 1, 2004

Summary

Hollywood meets the small-town South when an action-movie star comes to a quirky Georgia community to film the true- life (and death) story of a heroic local lawman. The dead hero's widow, Grace, launches an inventive, often comic crusade to stop the filming of her late husband's very private story. She soon wins love and assistance from the movie star's personal bodyguard, a good-hearted ex-con with sad memories of his own. The movie star's nerdy son develops a crush on the heroine's shy niece, and Grace's colorful, cantankerous grandmother falls for a mysterious man from her (and her family's) past. When heart-tugging secrets come tumbling out, hero, heroine, and movie star are all surprised . . . and changed forever. Deb Smith's latest is another winner--touching on themes of love, loss, faith, and survival while keeping readers laughing from one page to the next.