KIRKUS

         BOOK REVIEW

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Fifty-eight-year-old Jozelyn Hardt experiences love and danger when she relocates from Florida to St. Croix to move on from an abusive spouse in Rodgers’ romantic suspense novel.

At her Al-Anon support group in Florida, Jozelyn reveals her decision to change her life, which has included “clinging to an abusive alcoholic husband.” She moves to St. Croix and, eight months later, meets 65-year-old Frank Loveland, a handsome British man who’s “semi-retired, hoping to retire within the year or so.” They embark on a fast-paced sexual and romantic relationship. Jozelyn moves in with Frank and learns that he does “high-risk undercover work” for the British government. Before long, he turns what she thinks will be a simple dinner at a restaurant into a marriage proposal and wedding ceremony, even flying in her adult son and her son’s new girlfriend for the occasion. However, the newlywed couple’s happiness is short-lived, as Frank must go undercover again after learning that a past partner has been captured by the Chinese; the captive is likely to reveal, under torture, how he and Frank successfully stole millions of dollars from Chinese military accounts. To keep Jozelyn safe, Frank puts in paperwork to divorce her and make her the “wife” of his widower friend and fellow agent Buck, and he sends her to Buck’s ranch in Montana.

Buck and Jozelyn start to get close after she helps to rescue him after a bear attack. However, they soon face another threat to their lives. Later on, an unexpected revelation changes Jozelyn’s perspective on recent events, and Frank and Buck reappear in her life in new ways.

Rodgers’ novel has a nifty twist ending that gives this often melodramatic, action-packed tale nuance and depth. The author provides hints of this plot turn early on when Jozelyn notes to her women’s group that she has attention deficit disorder: “I can’t set a goal kand stick to it like you gals. Instead, I set blurry intentions, and that brings me surprising and, sometimes, uncomfortable situations. Especially with choices in work, former boyfriends, and in my marriage.” Jozelyn is also in a physically fragile state several times over the course of the narrative, as when she’s debilitated by a bad asthma attack when she meets Frank and passes out soon after arriving at Buck’s place; these instances gain new meaning by the story’s conclusion. This novel is also enjoyable as a romantic fantasy, with Frank presenting Jozelyn with lovely jewels and apparently a great deal of sexual satisfaction (“He’d never in his life been with a woman who had such intense orgasms”). Jozelyn’s time with Buck on the Montana ranch further showcases her desirability and places her in another colorfully detailed setting. Although this book’s wrap-up seems rushed, given all the drama that came before, it makes sense in light of the unusual ending, with Jozelyn waking up to the realization that a “seismic shift” for someone her age can happen anywhere. A pleasurable fantasy of an aging woman exploring new choices.

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                     Author's note: But is she exploring new choices?