Truth and Circumstance

Myrna
Parks
ISBN Number: 
978-1621350798
Genre: 
Contemporary


Bethany (Beth) Ashton is on her way to a Writer's Conference in Sacramento, California, and in a hurry.  She has a manuscript that she must get into the hands of the all-time great author, Adrian Adams, whose accolades she isn't shy about sharing and enthusiastically does so to any who will listen.  Carter Phillips is traveling the same direction but for different reasons. His handsome features even detour Beth's gush of non-stop prattle for a few seconds. Carter finds her narration of where she is going and why almost as entertaining as her insistent claim to Adrian Adams' greatness. But, when their destinations turn out to be the same hotel for the same conference, Beth snags his unsuspecting help, moments before her family arrives on the scene. One lie to attain her goal of meeting the sequestered Adrian Adams leads to another and another until eventually the lies grow a bit too big for our heroine to handle alone!
Myrna Parks somehow manages to turn the often over-used trope of landing an obscure manuscript in a famous author’s hands (every author wannabe's dream) into an interesting tale with an unexpected twist. Throughout the novel, the hero's motivation feels slightly contrived and almost unbelievable for a mature adult as he willingly aids in perpetuating the heroine’s lies. It isn’t until a good part of the way through the story that he issues a less than convincing reprimand to bring the lies to an end. Still, this novel is a smooth read and is a fun and  entertaining way to spend an afternoon!

Erin Murdock