Under the Southern Cross

American Lee Paynter has built her small travel agency into an international tour company. Brash, confident, and openly lesbian, Lee's great love is her business. Women? They're to enjoy and let go. Alexandra Findlay is pursuing a career in Australian tourism with quiet focus and determination. Now, Alex has been assigned to accompany Lee on the American woman's visit Down Under, to win Lee's company over to Australian tourism. Suddenly Alex's quiet life explodes... And Lee is challenged by a woman unlike any she has ever known.From Library JournalThe author of the Carol Ashton detective series has departed from her usual genre to write a diverting novel about a lesbian struggling with the problems of coming out. Employed as a tour director in Australia, Alexandra Findlay faces a dilemma when she falls in love with Lee Paynter, the openly lesbian head of a U.S. travel company, whom she has been assigned to escort on outback tours. An earlier affair whose exposure resulted in her lover losing a job has made Alexandra sharply aware of what public knowledge of her sexual identity could cost her, particularly since she works with Steve Monahan, a homophobe who is competing with Alexandra for a promotion. McNab has a sure hand with the colorful Australian setting, and the erotic scenes play well, but her serious theme demands characterizations with more depth.- Harriet Gottfried, NYPLCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.