THIRD TIME LUCKY
CLAIRE CROSS
ISBN# 0425-20375-11
2000
Berkeley Sensation
375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014
Trade Paperback
$14.00
354 pages
Chick Lit/Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5 Cups

Nick Sullivan has been away fifteen years, fleeing a bitter conflict with the eccentric grandmother who raised him. Now she has called him home, perhaps for reconciliation. It is too late, though, as he discovers her blood-splashed body sprawled on the floor of her greenhouse. Panic strikes, for he is sure to be a prime suspect in her murder. Needing a safe haven, he turns to the one person who has every right to despise him.

The family black sheep, Phillipa “Phil” Coxwell became a landscape designer instead of an attorney like the rest of the clan. Her mother nags constantly about her sundry failings. When Nick vanished, he broke her youthful heart. How dare he reappear on her doorstep begging for aid, when she has finally recovered from that pain? Her head says nothing good can come of it, but her heart and her traitorous body say otherwise.

Nick and Phil have definite chemistry in spite of their long separation. Gradually Phil begins to see Nick as a true kindred soul. When they learn his grandmother is not dead after all, Nick cannot be a suspect, but myriad other problems surface that they must resolve.

A cross between chick lit and traditional romance, Third Time Lucky is a fun-filled book. I loved the heroine because she does not take herself too seriously. The primarily first person narrative avoids the frequent misstep of being too cute, and thus artificial. Although unexpected humor plays peek-a-boo with the reader at every turn, the story is not a simple comedy, but the emotional tale of two people finding themselves and each other in the best possible ways. Well done, Ms. Cross.

Alegria
Reviewer for Coffee Time Reviews
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books