Sleeping at the Magnolia

I never understood why Lisa G. Brown didn't write more books. The three I have are on my all-time-favorites shelf. This book grabs your heartstrings and never lets go. It's a tale of a great love that was not allowed to be. It mirrored the love and loss of an elder in the family, who never gave up on hers. When the two young lovers are united, now older and wiser, the old pain and prejudices are there, but both of them know the embers never went out. What they don't realize is that someone is determined they will never ignite again, even if they have to kill them to see to it. An age-old mystery that a killer never wants to be solved could be their beginning, or their end. This book is so unique and so charming, yet heart-wrenching at the same time. Through the twists and turns you want to rush to the end, but you also want to savor the setting, a remnant of a time gone by, and stay a little while.

When Lainie Thorne and Colley Rawlins were teenagers, they were close friends and inseparable lovers. However, both of their families led by the patriarchs strongly discouraged any relationship between the two teens. Lainie's father John looks down at the "shanty" people where Colley was raised. Colley's grandfather Devil, who only recently brought the illegitimate lad into the rich family fold, feels that his grandson has no time for puppy love especially with the daughter of an employee. Even with these obstacles, love somehow blossoms amidst the magnolias. However, tragedy intercedes before anything lasting can occur. John is dead and Colley is forced into exile. Three years later, Devil strikes again, starting with forcing Colley to return home. The devious senior citizen has hatched a new plot that centers around the Thorne-owned Magnolia Hotel, and a ploy that forces two males (Colley and his cousin) to vie for the attention and love of Lainie. Hopefully, this time the old coot's intervention will end happier than some of his previous interfering actions Readers will definitely not sleep through the sexy, sultry SLEEPING AT THE MAGNOLIA. The story line has a pure steamy Old Southern atmosphere similar to a Faulkner type of mien, but placed in the New South. The lead protagonists are first rate, as individuals and as a couple, and the elements of intrigue add up to turning Lisa G. Brown's novel into a big time romantic suspense extravagenza with the heat on the romance. Harriet Klausner