Fadeout

Funeral Planner #1

by Rolynn Anderson

Jan Solvang has spent her life avoiding conflict and commitment. Six months ago, she left a marriage proposal and a job in Seattle to care for her dying mother. Now she feels trapped in California with an inherited dog, working with her estranged father as a memorial event planner. Scriptwriter Roman Keller thrives on conflict. His documentaries reveal the flaws of the famous. Jan's challenge is to help him write a positive eulogy for a grandfather he despised, but Roman is more interested in her other client: a powerful attorney with a dark past his family wants buried with him. If Jan stands behind the family and Roman goes for the expose, who wins? The tension between them grows as each discovers the other is keeping secrets. Will the truth destroy their chance at love?

Genres: Contemporary, Romance

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2012

About the author

Scandinavian, Army Brat, English Teacher, High School Principal, Golfer, Boater, World Traveler, Author. With her experiences, Rolynn Anderson is fairly bursting with stories about extraordinary people and amazing settings, real and contrived. Now add her competitive nature and her love of ‘the makeover.’ As a principal, she and the staff she hired, opened a cutting-edge high school; as co-captain with her husband on INTREPID, she cruises from Washington State to Alaska and back. As a writer, she delights in creating imperfect characters faced with extraordinary, transforming challenges. Her hope: You'll devour her ‘makeover’ suspense novels in the wee hours of the morning, because her stories, settings and characters, capture your imagination and your heart.

Reviews

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Fadeout” is an unusual twist on a common profession, giving the reader a different look on grieving and funerals.

Read full review in the 2012 Holiday issue of InD’tale Magazine.

[Lisa Rayns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful story though not what I expected. By the blurb, I thought it would be comical. I mean, fainting disorder? That screams humor to me. Instead, the humor was more subtle, mostly brought out with Roman, who is very loveable and unique. I say he is loveable because any man who realizes their mistakes and mans up to them gets points in my book. I found more mystery and serious drama, almost heart wrenching, than the lighthearted romance I was expecting. Still, it’s an excellent story that runs very deep with themes, characterizations, and understanding of the human condition. It’s very well-written and kept me interested the whole way through. I won this book in a contest and was very excited to read it. Loved it!

[Diane Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tense from the first page. Jan Solvang and her father operate a business that help the deceased family plan a memorial, a read send off for the deceased. (BTW, this is a fantastic concept.) While Jan is planning a memorial, the deceased's grandson shows up prepared to save his grandmother from con artists. What Roman finds instead is an intriguing, sensitive woman who plans to show his grandfather in the best light. In the meantime, Jan and Roman discover a mystery with another client. As they dig, Jan wants to protect the family, while scriptwriter Roman seizes on a perfect expose. Their budding romance will suffer if either acts on their instincts. Author Anderson brings her usual tight plot and interesting characters to this story.

[Ashley Nemer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect about this book - a funeral planner who faints under surprise and stress. But I actually really liked it. I thought it was cute! Jan and Roman were fun, I liked their interactions even though they both can be frustrating at times. I wanted to just slap them each one or two times during parts of it. But I was glad to see how it ended. It deff ended the right way. It was a different kind of mystery for me, in my opinion. That was nice, that it wasn't predictable. 'Cause I really didn't see the 'reason' behind everything coming at all. I enjoyed it and am kinda sad the book is over.

[Stevie Kisner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting idea for a story, but the author's voice just doesn't mesh well with my thinking style.