Tassy Morgan's Bluff

March 14, 2011
Filmmaker Stinson's debut shows divorced artist Anastasia "Tassy" Morgan through the eyes of the men in her life, and by default her own sense of self is lost. Her neighbor Lincoln Ellis, a widower and recent transplant to San Andreas, Calif., is entranced by this "big, vital woman" who goes mano a mano with the town council when they deny her petition to rebuild her decrepit cottage and shore up the sinking bluff it sits upon. Tassy's brazen antics draw the attention of several men, but Linc's endearing support melts her hardened heart and the two begin an affair with some fumbling sex scenes that display Stinson's awkwardness with words as much as the lovers' uncertainty with each other. A thin secondary plot around wheeling and dealing Native Americans does little to support this tale, whichâlike its namesakeâseems in imminent danger of crumbling away.

May 15, 2011
Tassy Morgans life is tough enoughsudden divorce, no money, pushing 50without her house falling into the Pacific. Unfortunately, thats whats happening. Without the necessary permits from little San Andreas close-knit town council, though, her historically accurate beach cottage will continue its slow tilt off the bluff. Her plight, or her houses plight, is the vortex around which the action of the novel swirls. Orson Wellesley, gallery owner, buys as many of her paintings as possible to keep her afloat. Margaret Nam, potential mayoral candidate and all-around villain, will risk anything to see her fail. Meanwhile, the Halvorsens have designs on the bluff and its beach access for a project that will benefit them. And Tassys widowed neighbor, Linc, surprises even himself with how willing he is to provide pro bono legal services. This second-chance-at-love story focuses more on the towns political and legal machinations than on the emotional development of the characters, but for readers whose tastes fall between Debbie Macomber and Carl Hiaasen, its a solid choice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)