Kinkade (Cape Light), the self-titled "Painter of Light" whose mass-produced soft-focus pastoral scenes have found many fans, revisits the idyllic Massachusetts town of Cape Light in this second volume of the Cape Light trilogy. Mayor Emily Warwick faces an election challenge from the local eatery owner, Charlie Bates. College student Sara Franklin wonders whether she should publicly reveal that she is the daughter Emily gave up for adoption after her husband's accidental death. Emily and her sister, Jessica, continue to cope with their difficult, heartless mother, Lillian, who now is in a snit over Jessica's choice of fiancé, a pious local handyman named Sam Morgan; according to snobbish Lillian, he's not good enough for her daughter. Meanwhile, Boston ex-cop Luke McAllister moves to Cape Light and tries to redeem his guilt over his partner's death by setting up a halfway house for troubled teens who want to turn their lives around. His efforts force the town into a moral dilemma over accepting outsiders, and the project becomes a pivotal issue in Emily's reelection campaign. Will Emily convince the town to do the right thing? Will Lillian break down and come to Jessica's wedding? Kinkade and Spencer take a simplistic approach to political and family problems, with a considerable dose of Protestant proselytizing. The characters, though pleasant enough, are one-dimensional; it's easy to guess the inevitable happy ending. Those who enjoyed Kinkade's first book will find more of the same here. (Nov. 5)
