Blood Roses [Mass Market Paperback]

Jeanette Baker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

How does a woman pick up the pieces after witnessing her husband's brutal murder? And how does she live with the ache in her heart that comes from losing the kind of man who appears only once in a lifetime?

Kate Nolan has taken it one day at a time for the past six years -- believing she can make a difference in the politics of Northern Ireland, believing her children will live to see peace in their country.

But sixteen-year-old Kevin Nolan does not believe in much anymore, and despite the efforts of his mother and sister he turns to others for solace. When he is arrested for dealing drugs, he and his mother are given a choice: Kevin can go to prison or he can become an informant.

Now Kate and her children are forced to acknowledge that treachery and duplicity are closer to home than they'd ever imagined. As their world unravels, their search for justice, honesty and peace becomes inextricably entangled with betrayal and murder.

A woman, a son and a daughter cannot look toward the future until they avenge the sins of the past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With this smoothly paced offering set amidst the Catholic and Protestant wars in present day Northern Ireland, historical romance author Baker (Nell) succeeds in crafting an emotionally charged political intrigue that informs while it entertains. Six years after witnessing her husband's murder, Kate Nolan and her teenaged children, Deirdre and Kevin, are still trying to overcome the horror of it all. Kate has immersed herself in her job as a Catholic civil rights activist for the British prime minister, Deirdre is a worrisome college student ever fearful and watchful, and Kevin has started to hang around with a drug dealing crowd. When Kevin is busted for possession, he's given a choice by Special Forces Officer Neil Anderson: become an informant or go to prison. Things take a darker turn when Kate learns that her husband may not have been the devoted husband and father she believed him to be; Neil forces Kevin into life-threatening situations involving terrorists; and Deirdre becomes infatuated with a Protestant student. Delivered with thoughtful exposition and flawless writing, this provocative book is built around Baker's personal experiences of Ireland, which lend her story a sense of immediacy and authenticity.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551669102
• ISBN-13: 978-1551669106
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,623,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeanette Baker is the award-winning author of fifteen novels, most of them set in the lush countryside of historical and contemporary Ireland where she lives and writes during the summer months. Her ancestors, the Flahertys, hail from Inishmore the largest of the Aran Islands located off the coast of Galway. She takes great pride in the prayer posted by the English over the ancient city gates, 'From the wrath of the O'Flahertys, may the good Lord deliver us.'

Jeanette graduated from the University of California at Irvine and holds a Masters Degree in Education. For the remainder of the year, Jeanette teaches in Southern California and enjoys the company of her grown children. She is the Rita award-winning author of NELL.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent honest book, October 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Roses (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't know much about the politics in Ireland, I usually read romance, mysteries, or Oprah Book Club books. After reading Blood Roses I feel I have a deeper understanding of the religious battles that took place, and continue to take place, in Ireland. With the political strife also came a lovely romance between the heroine and an English police officer. I think I liked the book most because the heroine was a strong, honest, powerful mother who finds love with a man who has little problem aknowledging and admitting his feelings. All in all a terrific book. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because at times it went into a little too much detail with some of the minor issues.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two books in One, August 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Roses (Mass Market Paperback)

Whether you enjoy Jeannette Baker's books or are new to her works, you'll love this one. It is two stories in one. First, typical of Baker, the heroine Kate Nolan struggles for peace in Northern Ireland as well as her own inner peace. Of course, it includes a romantic interest intertwined with the mystery of her husband's murder years before. Kate's son Kevin's life, parallels the action while standing on its own as a story about the fatal consequences of a teenager's rash decisions.