

If you have not pre-ordered it, you really should. Mary has a new book coming out next week, titled The Escape. This author understands the human heart very, very well. Her characters are distinctive and very human.

I am not referring to historical authenticity, although she long ago mastered that. An odd word, perhaps, but it is the best one I can use. Mary Balogh is among the authors I admire most. Once more, Jean put a book in my hand, promising me I would like it. It was the first author she "glommed." That author was Mary Balogh. In fact, she was reading all of them, tracking down the backlist, obsessively searching online for any titles she had missed. I had moved on to my own choices when I noticed Jean reading a lot of books by one author. "You will like this author." She was usually right - I did like that author. "Try this," she would say, as she placed a book in my hand. For my first year she guided my reading with her recommendations. I was turned on to romance novels by my dear friend Jean.
