The Maine Quartet — Kathy Lynn Emerson

These four romance novels, originally published between 1989 and 1997, have been newly edited by the author and are now collected for the first time in this omnibus edition.In Cloud Castles, originally published under the pseudonym Kaitlyn Gorton, fate brings an optimistic Kendra Jennings and a cynical Alex Moreau together on a lonely country road in 1989. A Deputy Sheriff, Alex thinks Kendra is keeping secrets and he's right, but she's telling the truth about the peculiar things that have happened to her since she moved into a house deep in the Maine woods. When her life, and that of Alex's teenaged son, are threatened, he has more than his duty to do. Romantic Times wrote that both plot and characterization keep us nicely entertained.In Love Thy Neighbor, Linnea Bryan returns to Maine to discover her roots and encounters the unexpected in her next-door neighbor, Marsh Austin, a retired cop who now raises and races sled dogs. When she decides to stay in Austin's Crossing to renovate her grandfather's house, Marsh is suspicious of her motives but very attracted to her. Romantic Times called this one A rollicking good read!In The Rapunzel Trap, formerly published as Hearth, Home and Hope under the pseudonym Kaitlyn Gorton, Hope Rowan suspects fairy tale character Rapunzel had agoraphobia, just as she does. Is Cooper Sanford, former high school bad boy, the handsome prince who can rescue her from her tower? To persuade Hope to help him with his motherless daughter, he's willing to give it a try, but he may be asking too much in return. Rendezvous called it fast paced with funny, interesting characters-people you can care about.In Family Lies, formerly published as Separated Sisters under the pseudonym Kaitlyn Gorton, Ariadne Palmer, part owner of an antiquarian bookshop in Maine, doesn't believe Clay Franklin when he tells her she has a twin sister and grandparents she never knew about. As a lawyer, Clay has sworn not to tell her the whole truth about her family, but his immediate and growing attraction to her argues against keeping that promise. Romantic Times called it A warmhearted tale . . . with many touching moments.As a bonus, this collection also includes a short story, The Boston Post Cane.