BB’s Review: Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts

Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts

Jove Novel

“Nora Roberts…knows exactly what to write to please her legion of fans.” – Fort Worth Star Telegram

From the inside cover:  From #1 New York Times best selling author Nora Roberts comes the first novel in the new In the Garden trilogy.  Against the backdrop of a house steeped in history and a thriving new gardening business, three women unearth the memories of the pat and uncover a dangerous secret.

A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis.  And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night…

Trying to escape the ghosts of the past, young window Stella Rothchild, along with her two energetic little boys, has moved back to her roots in southern Tennessee–and into her new life at Harper House and the In the Garden nursery.  She isn’t intimidated by the house–nor its mistress, local legend Roz Harper.  Despite a reputation for being difficult, Roz has been nothing but kind to Stella, offering her a comfortable new place to live and a challenging new job as manager of the flourishing nursery.  As Stella settles comfortably into her new life, she finds a nurturing friendship with Roz and with expectant mother Haley.  And she discovers a fierce attraction with ruggedly handsome landscaper Logan Kitridge.

But someone isn’t happy about the budding romance…the Harper Bride.  As the women dig into the history of Harper House, they discover that grief and rage have kept the Bride’s spirit alive long past her death.  And now, she will do anything to destroy the passion that Logan and Stella share.

This story starts out way back in the past when a mistress of Reginald Harper became pregnant.  She doesn’t want a baby, but when she tells Reginald, he was actually pleased and wants her to have the baby.  This cunning mistress figures to have the son of Reginald Harper may just be a financial benefit for her.  Something terrible happens to change all their plans.

From that point you jump to the present where our heroine Stella is cooking dinner for her two small sons, waiting for her wonderful husband to return from a business trip.  She was thinking how perfect her life was.  She had the radio on while she was cooking and hears that a commuter plane had crashed en route to Detroit Metro from Lansing…she instantly knew it was Kevin’s plane.  Her husband was dead.

After three years of being a single mom to two small boys, Stella decides to change her life…she needs to start over someplace fresh.  She takes a job working for Roz Harper who owns the In The Garden Nursery.  This is where the story really begins.  Roz turns out to be a wonderful boss and true friend to Stella, along with another employee named Hayley who was expecting a baby soon.  Roz has an brainy son who cross breeds the nursery stock to create beautiful flowers and shrubs.  Everyone gets along so well…except for Stella and the landscaper.  His name is Logan Kitridge.  He’s all man and Stella noticed.  But, he’s the opposite of her.  She’s organized, goes by the rules, fills out the forms, keeps things together.  Logan flies by the seat of his pants, never fills out forms or signs for any stock he’s taking from the nursery to do a job…until now.  With Stella in charge, Logan has to do it her way.  This is where the fun begins…it’s hilarious dialogue that will make you laugh.  I love the play between the two characters.  She’s trying so hard not to like him because he’s so difficult, but it just isn’t happening.  He feels the same way…she has too many rules, she’s too stiff…but he’s so attracted to her.  Stella is living at the Roz’s mansion, The Harper House, and they’re not alone.  The Harper House has a ghost who has been there forever…and she takes an interest in Stella and her sons.  Throughout history she was called the Harper Bride.  Together they all decide to investigate the house’s history to find out who this Harper Bride is and why she sings and cries at night.  They want to know why she still remains in the house. 

I really liked this story.  In the real world, single moms have to pick up the pieces of their life and move forward.  I think it gives women hope for the future, that you can be happy again if you just keep moving forward with your life.  Because I will read the remaining two books in this trilogy (Black Rose and Red Lily) to find out the rest of the story, I give this book 3 cocktails!   

Tags: book, Book Reviews, Ghosts, Nora Roberts, romance, Single Mother