Wife in Disguise (Silhouette Special Edition, No 1383)

Rating:
Summary: Very highly recommended!!
Review: Josie Fitzgerald Scott's spirit and determination remain strong, but everything else has changed about this woman. She once was athletic and fiercely competitive. Then tragedy struck. She was on her lunch hour when the truck's brakes went out; it ran a red light and hit her car in the left side. In the moment before impact she didn't think of family, but of her ex-husband, Del Scott. Plastic surgery gave her higher cheekbones and a rounded chin. Vocal cord damage lowered her voice. But the worse part for Josie was the damage to her body; damage that could never be entirely repaired.

A year of wheel chairs and walkers allows Josie to graduate to a cane. She returns to Beachside Bay, California and buys the old Miller place that she and Del had once dreamed of sharing. When she goes to Del's office, however, he doesn't recognize his ex-wife. In a moment of shock, Josie introduces herself as Rose, and hires him to renovate her new home. Soon she learns more than she ever wanted to know about what led to her divorce.

Del is quite taken with the woman who introduced herself as Rose. When he discovers her true identity, he's bound to be furious. But the odd twists life sometimes takes may just take a hand in the direction his life and heart will follow. As he discovers new things about this woman, he can't help being drawn to her.

The author also provides delightful insight into his own flaws in the marriage, via a marvelous spitfire of a character, who happens to also be a five foot tall master plumber that employs sexy young eye candy, by the name of Annie Mae.

Given the physical damage to the heroine, I kept wondering how the author would handle the love-making scenes, and now I find myself suitably impressed. The wild acrobatics and passionate displays common to genre romance are quite inappropriate for a woman healing from such extensive injuries. Consequently, the gentle loving, the fiery tenderness and erotic slowness provide a welcome contrast to the usual fare. My hat off to Susan Mallery for writing such a fun, daring, and heart touching romance! The plot and characterizations are absolutely outstanding. WIFE IN DISGUISE is Very highly recommended!!