The Secret of the Villa Mimosa

Rating:
Summary: one of the best!
Review: First of all, this book had me from the beginning. The way she opened this book peaked my curiosity and never let go. Following the storyline from continent to continent was fun, and you could feel Bea's frustration at trying to recover from amnesia while trying to figure out who she is and what she did that would cause somebody to want her dead.

Rating:
Summary: Past and Present Collide In Riveting Novel
Review: From a writer who delivers great novel after great novel, comes one that truly has everything. The suspense and mystery are first-rate as clues to a decades old murder are revealed. An amnesiac searching for her past, two orphans looking for their future, a handsome stranger, a dedicated psychiatrist, and an elderly eccentric are some of the characters you will take to heart. But it is homicide cop Franco Mahoney who is my personal favorite as he combines the best of Irish charm and affability with his innately Italian love of opera and gourmet cuisine.

Set in San Francisco, Paris, and Hawaii, this story follows the key characters as their lives overlap in a well-plotted, page-turning story. Accident victim Bea French finds a true friend in psychiatrist Phyl Forster who has forgotten what a personal life is. Naturally, Franco Mahoney hopes to give her one, until a handsome stranger with an erotic obsession whisks her off to his private island. Can the good guy win the girl? Will ancestors long dead be avenged? Will Bea's memory return, and at what price? Will a cat named Coco and a dog named Poochie save the day? This is one you won't want to put down and one that leaves you wanting more from these characters and this writer.

Rating:
Summary: kept me entertained
Review: I enjoyed the book. I don't remember reading any of her books before, so was pleased that it kept me entertained till the end. I would probably give it a three and a half star rating as the story line was a little too coincidental and Cinderella like, but I enjoyed it. Dr. Phil Forster sees on t.v. that an unidentified woman has been found in a ravine. At first they think the woman is dead but she is still barely alive and she is rushed to the hospital. Phyl is drawn to her and soon is treating the young woman who, when she finally comes to, has amnesia. Franco Mahoney, a likeable homicide cop is assigned to the case and he is trying to identify the woman, but is not having much luck. It looks like a homicide attempt. Through the course of the story Bea French (made up name for victim) ends up going to France while working for a rich lady as a companion of sorts. Bea can speak French that much she knows and she remembers a house but doesn't know where it is until by chance she runs across it and discovers another murder years before was committed in that very house. The story keeps your interest til the end. Not a spectacular mystery but still a decent one. I would read more of her books.

Rating:
Summary: Not exactly a thriller, but almost
Review: This book definitely is not a thriller, but is a good story that will keep you reading, sometimes it goes out of the main story and the way that Phyl met Brad the first time is one in a million. This is a very easy book to read so you will read it very fast, and as many books, the end is like Cinderella but that doesn't mean that the book or the story aren't good.