Acts of Love

Judith Michael

Luke Cameron's grandmother just died. She had been a talented actress that had retired due to health reasons. Among her possessions he finds letters that had been written by a younger actor who had disappeared a few years earlier. Luke takes the letters with him back to New York and reads them as he works on his newest play for Broadway. He finds himself attracted to the woman who wrote the letters.

He finally has to find Jessica Fontaine. Unfortunately no one seems to know where she is. She had been in a train wreck in Canada about six years earlier and never came back to acting afterwards. The writer of the letters is compelling. The letters seemed to be less intimate after the train wreck. They also did not have return addresses on the more recent ones. Luke starts his search.

Jessica has her reasons for being a recluse. She cannot face New York, London, or the acting community. She has instead become an illustrator of children's books. Her new profession has earned her awards for her workand she doesn't want to leave her sanctuary.

Luke is able to track down Jessica and her comfortable isolation is shattered. He challenges her and falls in love with her. She backs away, unwilling to embrace the life he would like to have for her.

This is an excellent novel. It is about putting on a stage play at Broadway level. It is about the reaction of someone after a serious setback. It is about relationships. It is about discovering the strength within oneself. It is about the encouragement of others. It discovers depths within Lucas, then turns and focuses on Jessica, looking at those same depths. Yes, this could be considered a woman's novel. But it is a very good story as well.