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Summary: Here's to you, Carole Lombard
Review: Like many of the old Carole Lombard movies, BLACK LACE AND LINEN is about financially well-situated people where someone is pretending to be something she isn't. Think of it as screwball comedy brought up to date for the 90s.Laura Stuart, a children's book writer and illustrator, pays a visit to her identical twin sister, Chelsey. When Laura arrives at the hotel where her madcap sister is staying, she discovers that Chelsey, a high-profile personality who recently met scandal in the tabloids, has been impersonating her. Chelsey explains she has fallen for a younger man and his uncle, Adam Barnhart, opposes the match. Chelsey has been pretending to be Laura because she believes a children's book author would go over better than a photographer of male nudes and asks Laura to carry on the masquerade. Laura reluctantly agrees, but finds Adam too provocative to resist. Laura is always in the hot seat as she tries to live up to Chelsey's uninhibited behavior and racy fashion preferences. When they have a chance encounter with Xavier Storm, whose divorce suit cited Chelsey as an extramarital partner, Laura finds herself in a position where, as Chelsey, she needs to do a nude male shoot herself. To her exasperation, the real Chelsey can't be located and Adam volunteers to be her subject. This 1994 novel can bring about some serious argument about how realistically it portrays twins. Studies have shown that twins--especially identical--tend to bond stronger than any other type of relationship. Even when they've been separated at birth, researchers have found they still share similar interests and traits that have led them to wonder if environment is really as influential as genetics. None of this research or a twins' "psychic connection" is evident in this story. Even as sisters, they aren't considered close. Be that argument as it may, the crafting of this story is nonetheless remarkably well done. Susan Carroll provides consistent, credible characters striving for definite goals in a tactile world. The humor is well-timed and the sexual tension ignites from Laura and Adam's introduction. BLACK LACE AND LINEN is a fun, contemporary romance. It brings screwball comedy back to life.
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