Blessing in Disguise

Bestselling author Goudge ( Garden of Lies ) should hit the charts again with her tale of second loves and the emotional interbraiding of two complex family trees. Though the narrative does not sustain the compulsively readable jolt of its beginning chapters, it remains enjoyable even when the pace slows somewhat. New York City journalist Grace Truscott is hard at work on a biography of her famous father, a Southern Democratic senator and civil rights advocate. Her steel magnolia mother, Cordelia, now raising money for a memorial library for her late husband, is furious because Grace plans to spill the secret about Senator Truscott's role in the death of his black secretary Margaret's husband, a bitter pill that becomes more acrid after Grace learns that a long love affair between her father and Margaret produced a daughter. Other domestic squabbles fan the fires: Grace and her inamorato Jack, an editor, quarrel about their age difference, while sullen teens from their first marriages try to end their liaison and Jack's viperish older son plots against him at work; Cordelia struggles with her feelings for a younger man, a former teacher who is now her gardener. Goudge excels at capturing excruciating family dynamics, adolescent tantrums and emotions that cruise below the surface. Cliched descriptions--everyone is gorgeous and talented--and an overriding need to link characters with contrived plot twists do a disservice to an otherwise thumping good read. Paperback rights to Signet; BOMC dual main selection; 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; author tour. (June)