Harlequin Temptation #561
Reviewed by Blue Falcon
The Book & Characters
This review is of The Lady in the Mirror, book #10 in the “Bachelor Arms” series and the first of two books in the series written by Judith Arnold, a pseudonym for Barbara Keiler. (Harlequin Temptation #561, November 1995).
Heroine: Jessica (Jessie) Gale, 27. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. Social worker and owner-operator of Rainbow House, a social service center for runaways.
Hero: Clint McCreary, 30. Black hair, gray eyes. Former New York City police officer. Recent law school graduate. Clint has a job with the Bronx County DA’s office when he goes back east. (He doesn’t).
The Plot
The book begins with John Clinton “Clint” McCreary, former New York City police officer and the book’s hero, having just arrived in Los Angeles from New York in search of his missing half-sister, Diana. The first person he meets in Los Angeles is Jessie Gale, the heroine of the book. Jessie is a social worker who owns and runs a social services center for teenage runaways.
From the moment they meet, Clint and Jessie are attracted to each other, although they do have ideological differences.
In the end, Jessie and Clint become lovers, and they rescue Diana without any drama or trauma. Clint decides to stay out west, marries Jessie, and they have their Happily Ever After.
Upside
Jessie and Clint are both fairly nice characters.
Downside
Sadly, Jessie and Clint don’t get much beyond the “nice” category. They’re not the most interesting characters in the “Bachelor Arms” series and I didn’t feel a lot of emotional connection or passion from them. The only real emotion in the book comes in Chapter 10, where Jessie and we learn about Clint’s past trauma.
Sex
The love scenes between Jessie and Clint are fairly mild.
Violence
One scene of assault and battery.
Bottom Line
The Lady in the Mirror is an about-average book. No more, no less. 2.77 stars.
Tropes: Ex-cop. Los Angeles. Runaway. Social Worker.
Location: Los Angeles, California.
3 Stars
Hi Jacqueline, this is Rich and Melissa Gallo(Duillo). Since Elaine’s death we have come across close to 200 of her original covers on illustration board in her house. We are interested in donating some of her works to the Society of Illustrators where she was a hall of fame inductee as well as to other museums. As a passionate and eloquent follower of her works
we would love to enlist your help in doing so.. Naturally we would be happy to compensate your time either monetarily or with original works by Melissa and Elaine. Please let us know if you are interested. Melissa’s email is melissa@melissagallopaints.com. Her phone number is 9542436097..( please text..) Thank you again for your passionate insights and appreciation of Elaine’s lifework. Sincerely Rich and Melissa Gallo