Mermaids in the Basement    by Michael Lee West Order:  USA  Can Avon, 2009 (2008) Hardcover, Softcover, CD, e-Book Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Sally Selvadurai Renata DeChavannes is not having a good year: her mother and stepfather have been killed in an airline disaster so she is holed up in the family hideaway at Nag's Head. But she has not gone far enough to be unaware of the tabloid stories circulating about her director beau, Ferguson Lauderdale (Ferg), and one of Hollywood's most notorious starlets, Esmé Vasquez. Added to this, Renata has just found a note from her mother that hints at deep family secrets. Renata heads for Point Clear, Alabama, to the comfort and knowledge of her grandmother, Honora, and her friends, Gladys and Isabella, hoping that they will shed some light on the secrets that her mother never got around to sharing with her. With her grandmother's help, Renata is able to remember events from her past that she has deliberately suppressed, but there is still the problem of reconciliation with her father, who has seemed so aloof and distracted around her since her mother's remarriage so many years ago. And what of Ferg? Can she get him out of her mind? The cad has been buying diamond rings, for heavens sake! Renata has no idea what he can see in Esmé, and is trying hard to forget him and move on with her life. Mermaids in the Basement was an entertaining read. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews