Looking For Laura [Mass Market Paperback]

Judith Arnold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

Sally Driver tries to move on after her husband Paul's death. When she finds love letters Paul had received from a mysterious woman named Laura, Sally wants answers. Todd Sloane was Paul's best friend, and feels betrayed that Paul would keep an affair a secret from him. Together, Sally and Todd search for Laura, but find something more meaningful along the way.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Looking for Laura will leave readers looking for more of Judith Arnold's books." -- New York Times Bestselling author Debbie Macomber

"Judith Arnold writes delightfully hot love scenes and really likeable characters . . . a real winner." -- Under the Covers

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551668289
• ISBN-13: 978-1551668284
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,540 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Judith Arnold knew she wanted to be a writer by the time she was four. She loved making up stories (not exactly the same thing as lying) and enjoying the adventures of her fictional characters. With more than eight-five published novels to her name, she has been able to live her dream. Four of Judith's novels have received awards from RT Book Reviews Magazine (for Best Harlequin American Romance, Best Harlequin Superromance, Best Series Romance Novel and Best Contemporary Romance Novel) and she's a three-time finalist for Romance Writers of America's RITA Award. Her novel Love In Bloom's was named one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly. A New York native, Judith lives in New England.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! What a Great Author!, August 13, 2001

By 

Tasha B. (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking For Laura (Mass Market Paperback)

Three months after her husband's death, Sally Driver is going through his things when she finds a thick envelope filled with sickly-sweet, purple prose love letters. Sally is indignant. It's not enough that her husband cheated on her, but he had to go and give the woman Sally's Hula girl pocket knife!

Since Paul is--fortunately for him at this point--dead, Sally decides to take a pound of flesh out of his best friend instead, whom she's never been fond of anyway. But Todd feels almost more wounded than Sally does: Paul had a reason not to tell Sally about the affair, but he was Paul's BEST FRIEND. Best friends are supposed to share stuff like that, aren't they?

Independently, both Todd and Sally start their own investigations into the identity of Paul's mistress. Much to their annoyance, however, they're quickly compelled to join forces. As they spend more and more time together, both Todd and Sally begin to realize that their conceptions of one another, and of Paul, were completely skewed. Without Paul around to influence their ideas of each other, Sally and Todd become tentative friends and then fall in love.

Yes, the plot is a little on the weak side. But what makes this book such a terrific read is Arnold's writing, which is light in tone, clever and funny in its presentation of the character's foibles, and filled with the author's life experience. Also, the romance between Todd and Sally, while slow to develop, is completely believable.

Furthermore, I appreciated how the author didn't excuse Paul's behavior toward his wife, which went beyond simply having an affair, as Sally discovers during the course of the book.

This wasn't a sad book at all. It was light, funny, and romantic. Arnold is a great writer and I can't wait to read more of her stuff! I highly recommend LOOKING FOR LAURA.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Realistic heroine, March 19, 2002

By 

curvynovelsdotinfo "[e-mail]" (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking For Laura (Mass Market Paperback)

Heroine: statuesque; bulky, broad-shouldered and round-hipped

    Newly-widowed Sally Driver has finally pulled herself together enough to deal with packing away her late husband's things. The last thing she expected to find tucked away amongst Paul's fastidiously folded clothes was a packet of poetic love letters. Unable to keep herself from reading them, she is horrified when she realizes that the letters were written to her husband during his marriage to her, and that the author is now in possession of Sally's only memento of her father.  

Todd Sloane, Paul's best friend and executor of his estate, didn't particularly want to deal with his late friend's widow when she came storming into his office at the Valley News looking for answers about Paul's infidelity. He'd always thought she was a flake, but this accusation of hers made him think that grief had sent her completely off her rocker. And more to the point, he didn't want to believe what she told him. How could his best friend betray him this way by not confiding in him?

Despite the enmity between them, Sally and Todd have no choice but to join forces and try to together to discover the whereabouts of the mysterious Laura, and Sally's missing keepsake.

What worked for me:
Sally was great! I loved her kookiness: the funky hats and weird earrings, the swirling Indian print skirts and a purse that could hold a small Sherman Tank. She came across as a really earthy and rich personality. She was a great mom and friend, and I think she tried to be a great wife too. As a wife and mother myself, I couldn't help but root for her. I cringed at the thought of living through her nightmare of the sudden loss of one's husband followed hard by the discovery of his unfaithfulness.

As far as body size and image goes, it wasn't directly dealt with in this story. It wasn't really about a statuesque woman coming to terms with her size and shape, because she was already there. The only thing that shook her self-confidence was finding out that her husband had been cheating on her.
    
What didn't work for me:
Todd seemed a bit flat to me. He was so certain that Sally had trapped his poor friend in loveless marriage that was the result of doing the right thing after a one-night fling. It was almost as if he was the embodiment of the late Paul's resentments toward his wife. For a guy with an investigative journalism background, Todd certainly didn't invest much time into getting to know Sally for himself in the years that she was married to his best friend.

Of course the time Todd spent with Sally and her daughter Rosie did bring him around, and by the end of the story he'd changed his attitude about them dramatically. And I'm glad he stopped thinking of Sally as "chubby" and started seeing her as desirably voluptuous. Still, I was left with the feeling that he just wasn't quite good enough for Sally.  

Overall:
"Looking for Laura" was a solid and enjoyable read with an intriguing mystery, though I'm still a bit agog at who Laura actually turned out to be. 

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - Very Warm and Real, December 7, 2001

By 

Ellen b (Long Island United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Looking For Laura (Mass Market Paperback)

This is such a lovely story about real people who are not perfect or beautiful. It's a very well written novel that can both bring you to tears and make you laugh out loud. It flows beautifully and is a real page-turner. It's also very uplifting. If you are interested in reading a love story far above the average, please pick up this book. You will not be disappointed.