Searching for Superman

Ute
Carbone
Genre: 
Contemporary

Stephanie Holbrook is soon to turn thirty.  Recently left behind by a suitor in search of adventure, she has found a perfect job working for Conrad Finch at the Rialto, a theater in need of major renovations.  If only she could find a man as perfect for her as her job!

Doug Castleberry is a high school teacher who loves his sister, Jane, and will dress in costume to support her and her struggling new business, even if it means entertaining children.  When Superman appears at Stephanie's niece's birthday party, will the Man of Steel be perfect for Stephanie too?

 

A solid setting and a charming premise are almost enough to overcome some basic problems with the writing.  Ms. Carbone's characters feel two dimensional with reactionary personalities, except for the villain and one or two secondary figures. The latter apparently have goals not only worth fighting for, but enough magnetism to draw other characters into their causes. Carbone does a lot of head hopping throughout and a generous measure of tense shifting. Her romantic lead reveals a lot of jealousy without the backbone to tell the flame of his heart how he truly feels. The later part of the story holds vocabulary that feels thrown in for good measure and out of character to the first half of the piece.

 

Erin Murdock