Rising Tides »

Emilie Richards began her writing career with a baby on her lap. Emilie, who has a master's degree in family development, finds family interaction fascinating and through the years, in many different ways, her four children have shown up in her books.

Emilie's daughter, who was adopted from India, emerged from a plane at age six, and was an instant addition to the family. Since then, Emilie has written several books about the trials and tribulations of adoption, as well as its myriad rewards. Wayward teenage boys have walked through Emilie's books, just the way they seem to walk through her life. The boys always turn out well and luckily her own have, too.

A long love affair with Emilie's minister husband convinced her that ministers can be heroes, too. Dragonslayer, a Silhouette Intimate Moments and RITA Award winner resulted from that realization. Endless Chain, the second book in her Shenandoah Album series for MIRA Books, did, as well.

Nine people have gathered for the reading of Aurore Gerritsen's will. Some are family, others are strangers. But all will have their futures changed forever when a lifetime of secrets is finally revealed.

Aurore Gerritsen left clear instructions: her will is to be read over a four-day period at her summer cottage on a small Louisiana island. Those who don't stay will forfeit their inheritance. With the vast fortune of Gulf Coast Shipping at stake, no one will take that risk.

Tensions rise as Aurore's lawyer dispenses small bequests, each designed to expose the matriarch's well-kept secrets. Longtime loyalties are jeopardized and shocking new alliances are formed as the family feels the sands of belief shifting beneath their feet.

As a hurricane approaches and survival itself is threatened, the fourth day dawns and everyone waits for the final truth to be revealed.

Library Journal

This sequel to Iron Lace (Mira, 1996) begins as Aurore Gerritsen's family is called together for the reading of her will. Generations of prejudice and discrimination committed by and against this unlikely assortment of characters is brought out into the open during the four days they're forced to spend together. More a family saga than a romance, this novel features a multilayered plot, vivid descriptions, and a keen sense of place and time. Although this is a stand-alone story, read Iron Lace first. Richards's Woman Without a Name (Silhouette, 1996) is a 1997 Rita finalist in the Romantic Suspense category. She lives in Ohio. (SM)