The Fall of Maggie Brown

Maggie Brown has gone to the tiny country of San Pablo to find her flighty sister Stella. Their mother, a drama queen, is convinced she’s dying for real, and has sent Maggie to bring her sister home. As befitting her name, Maggie is a little brown sparrow, content to live her four-walled life as a banker in Philadelphia. She’s going out on a limb here, and she’s definitely not comfortable with landing in politically-charged San Pablo to find Stella.

Once arriving in San Pablo, she’s directed to Ben Frazer, the only man who can help her. A decidedly disreputable figure, Frazer tells her he’ll help her find her sister, but it soon becomes obvious that he has other ideas. Frazer seems to have some connection to the political opposition in the country, and plans to keep Maggie far away until the upcoming elections are over. Unbeknownst to them both, there is an assassin following closely behind, and Maggie is thrown headlong into the adventure of her life.

The main characters are as fun and complex as only Anne Stuart can make them. Maggie is a wild woman hiding behind a carefully manicured exterior, and Ben spies that immediately. Fascinated by her mass of contradictions, Ben becomes emotionally connected in a way he never planned. Ben is a typical Anne Stuart hero, with a bit of a sadistic streak, a murky background, and a heart of gold. Things are definitely not what they seem when it comes to Ben, and it’s a trip to watch his true self unfold. Maggie is another standard Anne Stuart heroine: prim, uptight, but itching to throw caution to the wind. With her penchant for erotic lingerie and Diet Cokes, Maggie is definitely primed for Ben to shake up her blah life.

The Fall of Maggie Brown is about as good as it can get for such a short book. The only complaint I have is that the hero and heroine are stock-character-ish, and I found myself wishing I could get a clearer picture of them in my mind. I was still impressed, and I even bought the sex scene, which I didn’t find too abrupt or forced. In regards to the grade, this book can’t get much higher than a B because, well, it is 186 pages. From the start of the story, the characters make a beeline for the end, with no plot distraction to throw the reader off. The minute Maggie sets foot in San Pablo, we know what’s going to happen. But as they say, half the fun is getting there, and you definitely won’t be disappointed. As for me, I may try another Harlequin down the line.

-- Emma Leigh

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