Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Two middle-aged women battle for family, career and love in this melodramatic continuation of the switched-at-birth saga that Goudge began in Garden of Lies (1989). Forty-six years after Sylvie Rosenthal abandoned Rose as a dark-haired newborn and stole blonde, blue-eyed baby Rachel to take her place, their lives are still intertwined, and Rachel still doesn't know the truth. Now Rose has problems of her own: her husband's death a year ago has left her with a law firm to manage; her stepdaughter is a drunk; and her eldest son, Drew, is planning to marry Rachel's mentally unstable daughter, Iris, against his mother's wishes. Rachel's life is starting to fray at the edges, too. Her job running a women's health clinic has caused a rift in her marriage to Brian, and, even medicated, Iris remains a constant worry. Goudge's moral in all this is that even the best-hidden secrets and lies undermine happiness. A corollary: once the truth outs, love and forgiveness ensue. While Goudge's narrative bogs down in overwrought description and an unmanageable cast, fans of the first installment will not be disappointed with this feel-good sequel. Doubleday Book Club and Literary Guild featured alternates. (Apr.)
Library Journal
A sequel to the best-selling Garden of Lies, featuring two girls switched at birth who now have grown children.
Paula Friedman
In this sequel to Eileen Goudge's first novel, "Garden of Lies," she continues to draw on melodrama and near-incredible coincidence as she pursues the story of Rose Santini Griffin and Rachel Rosenthal McClanahan, who were switched at birth in the confusion of a hospital fire. In this new book, Rose is middle-aged and a recent widow, left to sort through the ambiguities of her past -- all linked, of course, to the real identity of her parents -- before she can begin to piece together a new life. Goudge's command of a potentially risky genre remains for the most part admirably under control, reminding us of the delights to be had in explorations of the improbable. -- Paula Friedman, New York Times Book Review
Kirkus Reviews
Goudge's fifth adult romance (Trail of Secrets, 1996, etc.) is a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs sequel to Garden of Lies (1989). As readers of that earlier novel know, Rose Santini Griffin and Rachel Rosenthal MacClanahan were switched at birth on the night of a hospital fire. As a result, Rachel grew up surrounded by Manhattan luxury, while Rose was a virtual prisoner of a cruel Brooklyn matriarch. Now in middle age, these two womenþs lives continue to intertwine. Rose's son Drew has proposed to Rachel's beautiful but seriously disturbed daughter Iris. Rachel thinks Drew will be the answer to her prayers for Iris, but Rose is not so sure. And she has another grudge against Rachel, who knows nothing of their real relationship: Sylvie, Rose's biological mother, has asked her to keep their true connection a secret. But when Sylvie suffers a fatal heart attack, thereþs enough time for deathbed revelations to expose long-buried truths. Meantime, several romantic subplots thicken the broth: Widowed Rose learns to love again in the arms of sexy, sage Eric Sandstrom; Rachel has to find her way back to estranged husband Brian, while Drew and Iris sort out their own emotional tangle. A likable cast keeps this plot-driven novel from seeming too contrived, and Goudge's adroit handling of sex and love should keep her legion of fans well-sated. (Literary Guild featured alternate selection)
