Poinciana Road

Way (His Australian Heiress) veers all over the place with a tangled tale of twisted siblings, long-lost love, and possible Munchausen syndrome by proxy. Child psychologist Mallory James returns to Moonglade, the Australian plantation where she was raised, to care for her beloved uncle Robert, who’s had a heart attack. Having left the area years earlier after being betrayed by her fiance, Jason Cartwright, Mallory is shocked and dismayed to find that Jason and his decidedly disturbed twin sister, Jessica, have been hired on at her uncle’s estate. Her longtime friend and occasional adversary, Blaine Forrester, is also nearby. As Mallory settles back into her old home, she can’t help but begin to love Jason’s feisty young daughter, Ivy (who is suffering from a variety of confusing maladies), and she and Blaine begin to wander down the path of romance. But it’s obvious, particularly after a tragic event, that their happiness won’t come easily. Way’s hero and heroine are likable, but the constant head-hopping and side plots—including a confusing turn into mysticism—make this uneven story hard to follow. (Nov.)