After numerous failed attempts at re-establishing her
Hollywood career, former child star Cilla McGowan returns
to her grandmother's farm in Shenandoah Valley, Virginia.
She plans to restore it to its former glory. Janet Hardy,
her grandmother, was a major star with a tumultuous life
that included scandals, famous love affairs, the tragic
death of her son and finally her suicide. The farm was a
place of healing for her grandmother, and Cilla believes
she can begin a new life here far away from her five-time
married melodramatic mother. Cilla concentrates on healing
her own soul as she begins reacquainting herself with her
father and his family. While separating trash from
treasures, Cilla finds love letters hidden in an old book.
The letters indicate an unexpected pregnancy from a
mysterious married man. Cilla tosses them aside not
realizing their importance.
Cilla's efforts at rehabbing the house run into vandals who
destroy and sabotage her work. Her next-door neighbor, Ford
Sawyer, a sexy graphic artist, consoles her and offers
stability and acceptance -- something Cilla has never had in
her life. How could she not fall in love with this
understanding man? Their deepening relationship is
interrupted when the vandals attack Cilla's friend and
leave him for dead. Ford and Cilla determine someone wants
Janet's old love letters and are willing to kill for them.
Ms. Roberts' newest contemporary novel delves into a
woman's struggle to redefine herself and find her own
version of family. Deft plotting that includes dream
sequences where Cilla has conversations with her dead
grandmother offer a fascinating past and present
combination. Interject that mixture with Cilla's evolving
relationships and it makes TRIBUTE a riveting read.
Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley is a long way from Hollywood.
And that’s exactly how Cilla McGowan wants it. Cilla, a
former child star who has found more satisfying work as a
restorer of old houses, has come to her grandmother’s
farmhouse, tools at her side, to rescue it from ruin.
Sadly, no one was able to save her grandmother, the
legendary Janet Hardy. An actress with a tumultuous life,
Janet entertained glamorous guests and engaged in decadent
affairs—but died of an overdose in this very house more
than thirty years earlier. To this day, Janet haunts
Cilla’s dreams. And during waking hours, Cilla is haunted
by her melodramatic, five-times-married mother, who
carried on in the public spotlight and never gave her a
chance at a normal childhood. By coming east, rolling up
her sleeves, and rehabbing this wreck of a house, Cilla
intends to find some kind of normalcy for herself.
Plunging into the project with gusto, she’s almost too
busy to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer—
but his lanky form, green eyes, and easy, unflappable
humor (not to mention his delightfully ugly dog, Spock)
are hard to ignore. Determined not to perpetuate the
family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels
herself against Ford’s quirky charm, but she can’t help
indulging in a little fantasy.
But love and a peaceful life may not be in the cards for
Cilla. In the attic, she has found a cache of unsigned
letters suggesting that Janet Hardy was pregnant when she
died—and that the father was a local married man. Cilla
can’t help but wonder what really happened all those years
ago. The mystery only deepens with a series of
intimidating acts and a frightening, violent assault. And
if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting
her and why, she may—like her world-famous grandmother— be
cut down in the prime of her life.
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