Who said only men act out in midlife? Sara Davidson is approaching 50, divorced with two pre-adolescent kids when, at a cowboy poetry festival in Elko, Nev., she meets a man "wearing a tan Stetson and dark aviator glasses"—the man she calls Zack. He's 39, uneducated and unworldly, but openhearted, good-looking and overwhelmingly sexy. At first blush, Zack seems a very unlikely partner for Davidson—a Los Angeles TV writer (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman) famed for her account of three women's lives in the 1960s, Loose Change. "Why this person?" she asks. "He's a being from another planet. He doesn't wear a watch or read a newspaper. He's never heard of King Lear."
And yet, despite their differences, their exciting, carnal fling evolves into a powerful, enduring romance. Like so many male executives before her, Davidson finds her younger lover a job where she works (in this case, as an extra on a western-themed TV series), raising eyebrows. And their unlikely relationship ruffles her kids, her ex and most of all herself: She wonders, for example, how she could be locked in a lust-driven relationship at an age when women are supposedly meant to become asexual matrons.
The author puts her TV experience to good use, pacing all the crises, quandaries and sex scenes to keep you flipping the pages with pleasure. She doesn't aim high here, but her shot is true: Davidson executes what is a rather cheesy concept for a book with intelligence, candor and humor. (Cliff Street/HarperCollins, $24)
Bottom Line: Juicy memoir by a woman who lassos a cowboy lover
by Tami Hoag
Page-turner of the week
Minneapolis is shivering through the depths of winter, but things couldn't be hotter for its homicide detectives. As Tami Hoag's smoldering new mystery opens, they've just discovered the third victim of a serial killer the press has dubbed "the Cremator"—and she may be the daughter of local billionaire Peter Bondurant. A few calls from Bondurant bring top FBI profiler John Quinn to the scene. Which comes as unwelcome news to victims' advocate Kate Conlan. Charged with safeguarding what may be the case's only witness, Conlan has a volatile history with Quinn going back to when she was a fellow FBI agent—and it's one she has struggled to forget.
As the pair fight to push aside this animus—or is it really attraction?—and focus on a brazen foe who seems to get wilier with each killing, Hoag capably demonstrates just why she has become one of the hottest names in the suspense game. (Bantam, $24.95)
Bottom Line: Leaves competition in the dust
by Joan Rivers
With her superhuman energy, comedian Joan Rivers, 65, might seem a perfect choice to dole out tips on coping with aging. Alas, the advice in this self-congratulatory volume veers from the obvious (exercise, eat right) to such fortune-cookie platitudes as "live in the now." When her tips do get specific, they are shamelessly shallow: Redecorate your home and "get a cell phone," says Rivers, and you'll stay young at heart.
Sprinkled throughout are tired age jokes ("At parties," reads one, "never use your dentures as castanets"). Far worse are the contradictions cluttering the book. Rivers rightly complains that our society is "idiotically hung up on age," then touts her own plastic surgery as a panacea. Idiotically hung up on age, indeed. (HarperCollins, $25)
Bottom Line: No birthday cheer here
by Fred Albert
Doggie sweaters were just the beginning, obviously. This look at state-of-the-arf doghouses shows that while Rover may still prefer a nice cool hole under the porch, dog owners often have grander plans for man's best friend.
In page after page of delightful color photos, it's the detail that wags the dog. Just take a peek at the tiny monument that crowns the petiment—er, pediment—of Coco the Westie's neoclassic "House of Coco." Some of the doghouses are so ornate they could be cathouses, like the scarlet-and-gilt "Muttropolitan Opera House" that would seem to be just perfect for performances of Dog Giovanni or Corgi and Bess. A few of these experimental shelters later showed a lack of staying power, unfortunately, such as the dog-biscuit fortress that took to the elements the way a Milk-Bone takes to the water dish. The helpful index of designers at the back of the book is sure to unleash a pack of copy-dogs. (Abbeville, $24.95)
Bottom Line: Fetching photo collection will leave you panting for more
by Catherine Whitney
That famous former Catholic schoolgirl Madonna once admitted that she was "obsessed" by nuns. "They seemed all-powerful and perfect," she said. Even without the traditional habit and wimple, it's true, they do hold a certain mystique.
In The Calling, journalist and author Catherine Whitney gives an inside view of the Sisters of Saint Dominic of the Holy Cross, whose schools she had attended while growing up in Edmonds, Wash. We learn why the women decided to join the order and why several left during the social upheavals of the '70s (including one who married a priest, believing the church would soon abolish the celibacy requirement).
In addition to praying a lot, teaching and serving the poor, the sisters watch TV in sweatpants, crack jokes and occasionally annoy each other. This is all great material, but Whitney doesn't do it justice. For The Calling's poor organization and sloppy writing, the author deserves a rap on the knuckles. (Crown, $23)
Bottom Line: Promising mission turns out less than heavenly
>gardening
For gardeners, April offers hints of summer and the fragrant promise of things to come. Here are five books to help you get down and dirty this year:
The Rose Bible by Rayford Clayton Reddell People have been growing roses for 5,000 years, and a spate of new books shows why those flowers are so beloved. Garden columnist Ray Reddell has more than 8,000 rose bushes at his California ranch and is an expert on all matters rosarian. (Chronicle, $24.95)
AHS Great Plant Guide Praise be, an encyclopedia that doesn't outweigh a doorstop: The American Horticultural Society's fact-crammed guide to more than 2,000 plants is small enough to fit in a big pocket. (DK, $16.95)
The Free-Spirited Garden by Susan McClure Lush meadows and cozy little Edens can be grown with creeping plants and flowers that reseed themselves. A prairie garden, a reminder of America's past, can flourish even beside a city sidewalk. (Chronicle, $18.95)
Climbing Roses by Elvin McDonald This is one of four charming volumes in The Rose Garden Series. In this, the garden editor of Traditional Home celebrates the ones that ramble and climb untidily on walls, trellises and arbors. (Smithmark, $12.98)
Made for the Shade by Judy Glattstein It is shade and shadow that give a garden mood and mystery. Here are a bunch of ways in which the artful deployment of shrubs, flowers and ferns can bring life and contrasting color to pretty places where the sun is stingy with its beams. (Barron's, $14.95)Emily Mitchell
- Contributors:
- Laura Jamison,
- Pam Lambert,
- Dan Jewel,
- Kyle Smith,
- Emily Mitchell.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
