Stanislaski Brothers

The Stanislaski Brothers, two complete novels in one volume. Each story highlights one of the brothers in the tempestuous but loving Stanislaski family, immigrants from the Ukraine. The first novel, Luring a Lady, pairs the eldest Stanislaski brother, carpenter and woodcarver Mikhail, with a rich ice princess, Sydney Hayward. Then things get mixed up and fixed up for police officer Alexi Stanislaski, who finds himself both annoyed and intrigued by a vivacious and irrepressible soap opera writer in Convincing Alex. After the death of her grandfather, Sydney Hayward finds herself in charge of the family business. Not only must she deal with her grief, she must face down the threats and taunts of the man who thought he'd be sitting in Sydney's place. Then a dark-haired stranger shows up in her office, complaining about the long-overdue repairs in the building Sydney now owns, where he and a dozen or so other tenants live. At first Sydney is inclined to simply add the man's complaints to her ever-lengthening list of things to do. But something about this handsome stranger draws her in. Soon she finds herself falling in love, but because of a disaster in her past, she's afraid to confront the truth in her heart. In "Convincing Alex," policeman Alex Stanislaski is chagrined to discover that the hooker he has arrested is actually Bess McNee, a writer on a popular soap opera who is doing some "research" for one of her characters. Bess has an enthusiasm for life and an insatiable curiosity that Alex finds both alluring and irritating. And when Bess becomes entangled in Alex's investigation into a series of murders, things heat up on several fronts as Alex's stubborn nature and Bess's indomitable spirit clash. Only after experiencing the terrible pain of loss can they hope to find happiness together.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Fiction, Romance. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.