Margaret Watson Life Rewritten

Life Rewritten

Margaret Watson

Harlequin SuperRomance, Nov 12 2010, $5.50

ISBN: 9780373716739

Following the drug death of her lover and Redhead band member Diesel, Delaney Spencer has reinvented her life. She is no longer rock star Chantal and has become a carpenter in Otter Tail, Wisconsin. Delaney has become a good member of the community and actually still performs with a local band.

Diesel's brother Sam McCabe has located Chantal. He arrives in Wisconsin demanding she give him the recordings she and his late sibling made just before he died to secure the future for Diesel's two children, Leo and Rennie. He is their guardian since their mom Heather is incapable of caring for them. When she hesitates, frustrated by her and his desire for her, he accuses her of killing his sibling by hooking him to the drugs; which she denies. Still Delaney must decide whether to continue to hide from celebrity status or take a chance that her alcoholism is under control.

Life Rewritten is a strong family drama starring individuals tied together by their grief for a deceased loved one. The cast is strong. The kids feel frightened and abandoned; Sam is filled with anger and survivor guilt; and Delaney is a recovering alcoholic who logically knows she did not turn Diesel into an addict as he was a user before they met, but feels illogical guilt by not intervening to stop him. This is a winner as even Fluffy the dog has real flaws (and not just the gas).

Harriet Klausner