The Secret Ingredient A Novel

Every woman who's ever been involved with a man has harbored the thought: If only he would change. It's just the way we're wired, just the way we look at love. We're deliriously happy with him in the beginning of the romantic relationship but then, ever so gradually, ever so scarily, we decide he needs to be fixed. But what if we get our wish and we do fix him? And what if it turns out that we were better off with the guy he was before we fixed him?

Meet Elizabeth Baskin, who falls in love, gets married, and discovers six years into her union that the magic is gone - or, rather, fading. Her husband Roger has grown a paunch, lost interest in sex, and seems allergic to conversation. What's a disgruntled wife to do? She could go into denial. She could drag him into therapy. Or she could take her sister's advice and consult a certain Beverly Hills doctor who is spoken about in hushed, reverent tones - a doctor to Hollywood stars whose practice is, well, a bit unconventional. After scoring an appointment with the doc, Elizabeth is convinced that she's found the secret ingredient to saving her marriage. It seems so simple, so innocent. All she has to do is slip the prescribed packet of miracle herbs into Roger's orange juice and then - presto! - she'll have him back the way he was before he started coming home from work and falling asleep in front of the television set! Little does she know that her plan will go dramatically awry and that, instead of rekindling her romance with Roger, she will find herself stuck with a man she hardly recognizes and doesn't even like. Suddenly, Elizabeth is breaking into the doctor's office, running from the law, and teaming up with a transplanted southern belle - all in a desperate attempt to restore Roger to his old, imperfect self. What she learns is that perfection - especially when it comes to husbands - is highly overrated. The question is: does her revelation come too late? Filled with Jane Heller's keen observations about relationships and her trademark sense of humor, The Secret Ingredient is another delicious novel of romance, suspense, and laughter.