cover image Courtship of Peggy McCoy

Courtship of Peggy McCoy

Ray Sipherd. St. Martin's Press, $17.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-312-04286-8

Appropriate to the graying of America, this nautical love story features feisty protagonists who are both over 60. Peggy McCoy, a retired Navy nurse living on the Maine coast, is an expert sailor whose Thistle class boat is nearly capsized by a Navy cruiser under the temporary command of retired rear admiral Charles Deering. Despite the near miss, romance ensues, blooming until Peggy and Charles, egged on by young friends Sarah Dodge and Ensign Joe Marino, decide to compete in a two-person sailing race, waging their own gender war. Some readers will be troubled that a woman beats a man only because he is too much the gentleman to claim his rightful victory, and that Joe makes a vital career decision involving Sarah without consulting her. Such sexist elements notwithstanding, those of a certain age will enjoy the romantic ambience of TV-writer Sipherd's first novel. Reader's Digest Condensed Book selection. (June)