Stranger in Paradise

Carson Springs #1

by Eileen Goudge

In the first volume of a new Carson Springs trilogy, a woman falls in love with a much younger man, igniting a storm of disapproval and dismay among the inhabitants of this unique California valley in which families have deep and tangled roots and hide dangerous secrets. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Novels, Adult Fiction

432 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

I began writing at the age of eight and wrote my way through the lean years before I found success as New York Times' bestselling author with my first novel GARDEN OF LIES. To date I have published 19 novels and a cookbook. Every life experience I've weathered has found its way into my novels in one form or another: bad exes, births, deaths, divorces, romances, and even true crime. My heroines are like me: tough cookies who don't crumble.

My latest novel, Book One of my Gold Creek series, ALL THEY NEED TO KNOW, is the story of a woman fleeing her abusive ex who finds refuge in a small California mountain town, where she's befriended by a group of women who call themselves The Tattooed Ladies and reinvents herself as a police sketch artist. Kyra "draws lines to stop crimes," as they say in the biz, never imagining she'll one day be forced to confront the biggest criminal of all: her ex.

I'm married to former entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon and the mother of two grown children. We live in Sacramento, California, where we remodeled a 1940's house for which I was the on-site project manager. Fortunately, multi-tasking is my superpower, so I was able to write a book and supervise a home remodel at the same time. The latter is sure to find its way into a future book. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see pics of my home remodel and other adventures.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eileen Goudge is one of my favorite authors, but I am disappointed with this first book in a trilogy. Two May-December relationships, a murder or two, hidden family secrets along with many characters mentioned that had nothing to do with the story line. Will they come to life in the next book? Don't think I will be spending my time finding out. Too wordy and slow-moving to meet my tastes. Sorry, Eileen.

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two and a half stars. This is a light read and I found some parts of it awkward and a little unbelievable. But at the time I was desperate for anything to read and couldn't get to a library so kept going.Okay but not brilliant.

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book because the writing was so disconnected. I got about halfway through before putting it down for good.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of trilogy - entertaining but somewhat fluffy

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but don't know if I'll read the other two books in the series. It was a good story about a woman finding herself later in life and her relationships with her family as she tried to do so. I liked the characters. However, it wasn't compelling enough to make me read the rest of the series unless I had nothing else to read.

[Sandra Nedopričljivica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solidno ali ima ona boljih knjiga...

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another example of great Womens Fiction! I really like Eileen's books and haven't read a bad one by her yet - and I think never will. A great family story about Sam and her two daughters Alice & Laura - all going through massive changes in their lives. I especially enjoyed the story about Finch - the runaway girl who finds herself in Carsons Spring on the day of Alice's wedding to Wes. Highly recommended for lovers of Womens Fiction.

[Eddi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in a trilogy. I had a hard time getting into the story, but by the end was engaged. I do intend to continue on with the second book in the trilogy.

One of the main themes in this novel involves two May-December relationships, one being an older man with a much younger wife, and the second being the older man's son with the mother of the younger wife. Seemed a bit far-fetched at first, but I went on. When the mother (the older woman) becomes pregnant, things get stressful for everyone, and themes of family dynamics, expectations, roles, and the inevitability of change all come up. Other characters emerge, including a young runaway foster girl and a serial murderer, making this sound a bit more absurd.

It all comes together in a sort of happily-ever-after way. I am interested to see how the story progresses in the second novel of the trilogy.

[Janice · Rating 2 out of 5]

I selected this book because it is the first in a trilogy; I like getting involved with series characters, and I found the California setting inviting.
The book opens with a New York runaway's travelogue as she travels cross country by bus, with Carson Springs, CA, her destination, merely happenstance. As it turns out, sixteen year old Finch is the only female character with any substance. Sadly, I found the others lacking backbone, integrity and worth.
My favorite portion of this novel is the somewhat suspenseful side plot of a serial killer in the neighborhood, and who the killer turns out to be. The main plot is fluff.
I had problems with the period in history setting. I found it inconsistent. Overall, the book was lackluster.

[Susie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

best right to the end

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

First in the Carson Springs series. Good read!! I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good don't miss book two Taste of Honey

[Laprofec · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not read another page. This book is full of tired cliches, predictable characters, and meaningless drivel.

[Terri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Possibly one of the worst books I've ever read...or at least in the running. O-M-G!!! There are so many plots, going every which way, some of them never resolved. To begin with the mother of a 20-something birde who is just marrying a man in his 50's, falls for her daughter's new husband's son...who is 20 years younger. It's not the age difference so much as it's too much like incest. Then, she gets pregnant. Try figuring out that kid's pedigree.
Then you have the bride's 2 sisters...one of whom is un-married and would probably kill for a child...the other thinks her late father was next to God in the order of the universe. And, for every one of these women, there is at least obligatory graphic sex chapter. UGH!!!

Then there's the really rich, former movie (?) star who uses her sister as an unpaid maid, while this sister is as good as gold and takes care of their mother who is losing her mind. The last time we hear from this group is when the first group hears a cry in the night...waits until morning to investigate, find it's the mother having hallucinations, calls the hospital....and they all disappear from the book.

In the meantime, the mother (dating the her daughter's new step-son) is having trouble because the guy, who is a really terrific artist (of course) is staying at some other rich person's house at the bequest of their beautiful, but spoiled daughter, who wants him for herself, while painting a couple portraits, and not calling his baby-mama, but who still loves her. Of course the pregnant mother goes to visit him and the wanna-be girlfriend really pulls some sophisticated maneuvers and the pregnant woman decides he really is too young and goes home in a huff...while the artist decides he really does love her.

Meanwhile, the bride-daughter and her husband had evidently decided before they married that they want no children, but now, because of her mother, and the sister who covets a baby, she decides maybe she DOES want one. So while flying around in the corporate helicopter, she tells him. Around the same time, he fires her from her job in the corporation, but he tells her ANYTHING she wants he will do. Oh Yuck!!! So, then she decides she doesn't really want a baby.

So, while this is going, the pregnant mother decides to rent her house to a world-famous conductor who is appearing at the music fest she is organizing in the town (Yo-Yo Ma is playing there), and she discovers a small house her husband had bought (and hidden from her), gets contractors to fix it up, gives up her job at a family store and hands it over to the daughter who wants a baby..and just is happy while waiting for her baby to arrive.

Along with all this, there is a run-away 15-yr-old from NY who is taken in by the baby-coveting daughter, and completely turns herself around......except there's a killer running around Paradise....

And there'a kleptomaniac nun (she's only mentioned a teeny, tiny bit) (the nunnery runs a bee-keeping company)

SPOILER ALERT--

....and guess who the killer is? Must scroll down...

The worst part is....this is just the first book in a series about this town!!!!!!!






A NUN!!!!! who is not the kleptomaniac.

[Lora Shouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stranger in Paradise is the first book in the Carson Springs trilogy, but I don’t know if I want to read the rest of the trilogy. I liked this one a lot, and I think it ended in a good place. I am not sure I want to have these people, or even their neighbors dragged through any more trauma. On the other hand, there are questions left hanging about the lives of each of the characters that it would be nice to have answered.

This is what you would usually call Women’s Fiction. There is some romance, some family drama, some mystery and danger, and a general exploration of what it means to be a family.

The story begins with a teenage girl who later names herself Finch taking a bus across the country to California. On the advice of a fellow traveler, she winds up in Carson Springs. Almost the first thing she encounters after getting off the bus is a wedding, just as the bride and groom are leaving the church.

Finch manages to stow away in a car belonging to one of the wedding guests and so winds up at the outdoor reception at the home of the mother of the bride. The mother is Samantha – Sam. The bride I Alice. And the bride’s older sister is Laura. Laura is the sort of person who brings home lost kittens and puppies, and in the same spirit she takes Finch under her wing and takes her home.

Each of these three women has her own issues and problems – with each other, with men, and with life in general. Finch has her mysterious history too; for half the book I thought she had murdered someone back in New York.

To further complicate matters, there is a murderer on the loose in Carson Springs. At first, it looks as if this is just part of the background of the place, but suddenly this person gets involved with Sam and her family in a very personal way that causes them to rethink their relationships with each other and the other people in their lives.

I found this book on Scribd.

[Gloria ~ mzglorybe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read many of this authors novels but had never read this one. Happened to see it at the library so I checked it out. I had read the sequel to it many years ago and liked it much better than this one. This is a character driven novel and boy does she load it with characters, as the setting is a small community where everyone knows everything about everyone. It’s a picturesque community where you just want to set yourself right down on a park bench and people watch. The quaint little shops sound inviting. The characters that are developed are interesting but there are too many constantly introduced that didn’t matter at all to the plot lines.

The main character is a 48 year old widow. The opening scenes are her daughters wedding to a much older man. What I found unrealistic was that the mother, the main character, is attracted to her new son-in-laws son, a young man who is many years her junior. The attraction wasn’t hard to believe, but the actions were. She agrees to visit his place of business to view his artwork and ends up in the throes of passion at their first time alone together. No build up, just wham, bam! She’s characterized as a sensible woman but the contradictions in her actions defied that. She has two grown daughters who quite naturally aré appalled at their mothers actions, especially after she gets pregnant. A bit far fetched and convoluted, not a favorite by this author.

I do recommend reading her other novels however. A WOMAN IN RED was a favorite.

[Barbara Loggia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun summer book from Goudge and the first of a Trilogy! Young widow Sam sees her daughter Alice marry an older man and Sam then becomes involved with his son! Alice must face this fact and work out the beginnings of her own marriage. Older daughter Laura, divorced and unable to have a child of her own, takes in strays of all kinda--animals and people. She's brokenhearted when she finds her mother is pregnant but finds her own life-and dreams-can change quickly.
Set in the warm and sunny California hills, there's also honey nuns, murders, horses and a variety of lovely and wonderful people. Dropping this book off and hoping to grab the next one.

[Rhonda Clubb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam is the mother of two lovely daughters that I hated for most of the book. Like most children they couldn’t seem to understand that parents have a right to live as they please. Sam spent her marriage hiding her displeasure with a unreliable husband so her daughters wouldn’t change their opinion of him.
Now, widowed young she sets out on her own, young lover, pregnant, new home…. But those daughters just refuse to adjust!
All this while a killer is loose. I was surprised by the ending and didn’t see that coming! Read this 20 year old novel to find out!

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read with interesting characters. In Stranger in Paradise, author Eileen goudge takes us to a small town in California named Carson Springs. Famed for being the town where "the Movie"(Stranger in Paradise) was shot, we follow a young runaway coming to the town from the outside looking in. She arrives on the day of Sam Riley's daughter's wedding to a man much older. Secrets and lies are exposed and the truth is brought to light under the sunny skies of California.

[Myra Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book. It is a story of family and the many facets of the relationships among the various members. It primarily focuses on the different aspects of the lives of three women - a mother and her two grown daughters. There is romance and intrigue intermingled into the story, as well. I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in this trilogy.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. I liked the story but the characters weren't developed enough. I thought the first character Finch was going to be the main character, but then she played a surprisingly small part. The story kept me interested enough to finish the book, but it didn't keep me entertained.

[Kea4 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a series? No thanks. I loved the cover. I thought the runaway girl and the transition to the town was the same person. Guess not/ Just not a good book.

https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade...

[Lea Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that just makes you feel all warm and cozy. Lovely story, interesting sub plots, and wonderfully written characters that you want to follow through the series. It will make you wish you lived in Carson Springs.

[Letícia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐

Não é um livro perfeito (muito menos com personagens perfeitos, quis esganar alguns diversas vezes), mas consigo ver essa história acontecendo na vida real e me afeçoei muito a vários personagens, uma grata surpresa.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a while to get into this book but I did enjoy it.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of three. I have read this story but not this exact book. I have started book #2 and I have not read that one, so maybe #3? Good story.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good beach book

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light romance with some great observations of human nature.

[Meg Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun "beach read." Enjoyable, good story, happy ending.

[Joanne Cheek · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
A soft-porn waste of my time.