Sooner or Later

December 1, 1997
Orphaned young when her parents hurtled their Bentley to the bottom of a ravine, beautiful 29-year-old Ellie Duveen becomes the focus of evil stepbrother Buck's designs to snatch her inheritance in Adler's (Now or Never) brisk ninth tale of romantic suspense. Not one to dawdle while her beloved grandmother continues to control the dwindling family fortune, resourceful Ellie operates a trendy restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif. Enter the love interest: handsome Dan Cassidy, formerly a NYPD detective and now a vintner, whose last case involved the brutal unsolved murder of a prostitute. Adler identifies Buck, recently discharged from a gothic sanitarium, as the culprit and pulses start to pound. Buck, who has the psychopath's ability to charm as well as chill, stalks Elie in rather drawn-out sequences, but when the pace finally picks up, Adler delivers an ending with punch. An exhilarating trip for those addicted to the genre, the novel may disappoint readers seeking narrative subtlety. Adler has a penchant for brand names: Aubusson carpets and Vacheron watches are de rigueur, and it seems her men never put on a shirt without a notable label or fabric. Yet even readers with a low tolerance for these foibles may find themselves drooling over the food at Ellie's restaurant, which Adler describes with mouth-watering gusto.

January 1, 1998
Adler has written a fast-paced, suspenseful romance that is easy but fun reading. Ellie Duveen, with "misty blue-gray eyes and curly red hair worn long and flowing," lets us know that she is too busy for a relationship as she struggles to make her California cafe a success. Dan, an NYPD homicide detective, "dark-haired and blue-eyed, built tall and rangy," starts a new life after taking a medical retirement and moving to California to open a winery. Buck Duveen, with a "fine head of copper-red hair, dark eyes and a lean-jawed, handsome face," is a genius psychopath obsessed with Ellie, whom he last saw more than 20 years ago when she was a child. Guess who gets out of the insane asylum? Guess who is the family secret? Guess who walks into Ellie's cafe? And guess where this all leads? For public libraries.--J. Sara Paulk, Coastal Plain Regional Lib., Tifton, Ga.

November 1, 1997
Ellie Parrish Duveen divides her time between managing her small bistro in Santa Monica and caring for her grandmother in Montecito. After her mother and father died in a car crash that almost took Ellie's life as well, her grandmother raised her. Over the years, family finances dwindled until all that is left is Journey's End, the family home. Then ex^-New York City cop Dan Cassidy walks into Ellie's bistro, rekindling an old friendship. Dan has moved to California to open a winery and start a new life after an injury forced him into a desk job. As he and Ellie grow closer, a danger from the past returns to destroy the last remnants of Ellie's happiness--and possibly her future with Dan. Although the story is entertaining, Adler's plotting and characterization leave few surprises, while the events before the climax are disjointed and lead to a whirlwind conclusion. Purchase for Adler fans only. ((Reviewed November 1, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)