Time Loves a Hero

""At twenty-two I was poor, an orphan and a virgin and felt as if my whole life waited somewhere in the North.'' These are the words of Cody Walker, an aspiring writer from South Carolina who has just been invited to spend several months at Black Island, the New England summer retreat of the Beale family. Cody is eager to meet the patriarch, well-known financier Mallory Beale, who employed Cody's father until their business relationship ended suddenly and mysteriously. Before his death, Cody's father disclosed that the truth about his relationship with Mallory might someday change Cody's life. On the island, Cody cavorts with members of the extended Beale family and loses his heart to two women: cool, aristocratic Harding Beale and spirited Lisa, a summer employee of the family. Cody yearns to be part of the Beale inner circle and hopes his father's secret will place him there. What Mallory eventually reveals comes as more of a surprise to Cody than to the reader. But, with the exception of a few draggy sections and occasional fantastic elements that do not work, this is an entertaining story. (April 4)