Along Came Trouble (Trinity Harbor Series #3) »

With her roots firmly planted in the South, Sherryl Woods has written many of her more than 100 books in that distinctive setting, whether her home state of Virginia, her adopted state, Florida, or her much-adored South Carolina. She's also especially partial to small towns, wherever they may be. A member of Novelists Inc., Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America, Sherryl divides her time between her childhood summer home overlooking the Potomac River in Colonial Beach, Virginia, and her oceanfront home, with its lighthouse view, in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Sheriff Tucker Spencer has seen some action...but finding an almost-naked woman asleep in his bed leaves him speechless. Especially because this same woman, Mary Elizabeth, broke Tucker's heart six years ago by marrying a charismatic Virginia politician, a man who's just been found shot dead.

Mary Elizabeth needs Tucker's help. Needs him, period. But along with her return comes all the town gossip about their reunion romance. Even his father, who can't manage his own love life, is determined to "impart his wisdom" regarding theirs.

Tucker's not listening to any of it. He just needs to clear Mary Elizabeth's name. But in the end, he'll confront a mystery even more confusing than murder: how the heart makes room for forgiveness and a new start.

Publishers Weekly

Political murder shakes up a small Virginia town in the final installment of Woods's Trinity Harbor series (Ask Anyone, etc.). As sheriff of a community so idyllic that traffic citations are big cases and folks curse by saying "Geez-oh-flip," Tucker Spencer leads a pleasantly peaceful existence with little more than a matchmaking dad to trouble him. Life as usual comes to an abrupt end when he returns home one night to find his ex-childhood sweetheart, Mary Elizabeth Swan, half-naked in his bed. Liz jilted Tucker six years earlier in favor of Larry Chandler, a techno-millionaire with political dreams. Now Larry is dead, and Liz, fearing she'll be suspected of his murder, has come running for Tucker's help. Much to his family's disapproval, Tucker rushes to Liz's aid, motivated by a complex mix of chivalry and attraction. As the two join forces and investigate the murder, they try to resist the love their reunion instantly rekindles. The protagonists and the colorful townspeople are appealing, and Liz's attempts to win back the Spencer family's trust are portrayed deftly. Unfortunately, the homicide investigation that gives rise to much of the book is so amateurish and unbelievable that it weakens rather than complements the burgeoning romance. (Dec.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.