One Last Dance

May 31, 1999
Three sisters about to celebrate their parents' 40th wedding anniversary find themselves at their father's funeral and mother's murder trial in Goudge's (Garden of Lies; Thorns of Truth) latest tale of family secrets, scandals and passion. The Seagrave sisters are emotionally unfulfilled despite their accomplishments: Daphne, a novelist married to a doctor, cannot forget her childhood sweetheart, while homespun cafe entrepreneur Kitty yearns to adopt a child, and newly divorced real estate agent Alex is drowning in mounting debt. When their mother shoots their father without explanation or apology, the daughters investigate the rumors and suspicions they have ignored all their lives to confront the truth about their philandering parent. In the small town where they grew up, the Seagraves were a picture-perfect family and their father a respected pillar of the community. Frustrated by the lies of old friends and their mother's stubborn silence, the sisters gain support from Daphne's ex-boyfriend (now the prosecuting DA), Alex's patient ex-husband and Kitty's energetic young lover. In Goudge's emotional landscape, the truth sets one free--from guilt, inhibition and doubt. Her mixture of soap opera and modern romance occasionally overdoses on inner torment, and no revelation comes as a surprise, but she consistently explores intense family relationships and turns out bestsellers that feature women on the verge of major change. Even when the heart-wrenching prose becomes fulsome, the reader keeps turning pages just to make sure the heroines find the happiness they deserve. Agent, Susan Ginsburg. Doubleday Book Club main selection and Literary Guild Super Release; author tour. (June) FYI: Signet will release Thorns of Truth simultaneously in paper.