Children's fiction author Sandra Winslow goes from being the wife of a beloved local politician to being the Black Widow of Paradise following a terrible car wreck, because of which she is blamed for her husband Victor's death. The circumstantial facts line up against her, and even though she is found not guilty by the court, the town's people still hold her accountable, and in particular Victor's grieving parents who file a civil case against her. Sandra, who has been holed up at her family's dilapidated Victorian beach house, decides to sell the property and move as far away as she can.

However, in order to do this she has to first repair the place. She hires Mike Malloy, a newly divorced father of two children he loves above all else. Although they both fight the intense attraction, eventually they end up in each other's arms, and then in love.
Unfortunately her court case looms over them, and despite Mike's best efforts to get her to confide in him, there are secrets Sandra will hold forever, even if it jeopardizes her future with Mike and his kids. The question is: can she trust him with her heart in the same way she has with her body?

In Passing Through Paradise Susan Wiggs again demonstrates her unerring ability to identify and examine the whole range of human emotions from the perspectives of both Sandra and Mike. Hope, fear, anger, joy and betrayal are all to be found here. In addition, she does an outstanding job letting us in the mind of Mike's pre-teen daughter, showing us her resentments and insecurities as well as her pride in her father and her grudging respect for Sandra. This same spot light is on Sandra's parents as we watch them struggle with the potential break-up of their long-term marriage.

Ms. Wiggs attention to detail is also evident in the way she is able to tease details out of every setting and situation, making the reader feel a part of the story as opposed to just the reader of it. Her descriptions of Sandra and Mike's love-making are both evocative and tender at once, as we see Mike slowly coax her into becoming a fully developed sensual woman, which she had clearly not been in her marriage. Ms. Wiggs makes real his frustration with the way Sandra continues to hold secrets to protect a dead man are almost palpable, as well as her regret at feeling the need to do so.

Passing Through Paradise is yet another exemplary work from an author who continues to set the bar for contemporary women's romance. I highly recommend this novel to anyone open to having their emotions touched and their imaginations stirred. 5 Angels RR

Reviewed by: Lynn