Woods's latest entry in her Sweet Magnolias series (after Stealing Home
) is sure to please fans and entice new readers with an affinity for family stories. Dana Sue Sullivan, devastated by husband Ronnie's one-night stand with a local bimbo, made neighborhood history by throwing him out of their Serenity, S.C., home, tossing his belongings onto the front lawn and banning him from all contact with her and their 14-year-old daughter, Annie. Two years later, Dana Sue is a successful restaurateur, having opened high-end eatery Sullivan's, but can't forgive herself after Annie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening anorexia complications. Dana Sue's lifelong best friends, Maddie and Helen, insist that she contact Ronnie, giving her forlorn ex an excuse to re-enter Serenity and, he hopes, a chance to rejoin his family. As everyone faces down their personal demons, Woods buoys the predictable plot with flesh-and-blood characters, terrific dialogue and substantial stakes. (Mar.)
