Risking Enchantment

This is a story about three sisters, gifted and professionally successful daughters of two wealthy, eccentric New England academics. After the mother's death, following the birth of the third sister, they are raised by Alison, the oldest, their father, and briefly by their mother's sister Muriel. Alison owns a bookstore and, before her divorce, was a widely read author of children's books, but her divorce left her blocked. Marooned in a demeaning marriage, Belinda and her male business partner write musical ads for television and radio. Corinna, the youngest, troubled and reckless, is a night club singer. Her accompanist Justine is in love with her but Corinna refuses to admit she loves Justine the same way, threatening their relationship.

None of the sisters is able to do what must be done to change their situations. Then three events violently disrupt their lives. Their father Brevard, estranged from all three, tells Alison he intends to commit suicide. Soon after, Corinna is drugged and raped, leaving her physically damaged and emotionally compromised. William, Belinda's fellow composer, tells her he intends to marry, news that shocks her into belated awareness of her real feelings for him, just as she is plunging into a dangerous confrontation with her unfaithful husband.

These potentially crippling events offer the three women the opportunities to build new relationships from the wreckage. Assisted by comic relief, suspense, surprising plot twists, and a buoyant pace, the novel is propelled to an exciting and unexpected conclusion.


Genre: Romance