RELATIVE STRANGERS

by Maureen Rissik ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1986

Publishing-potboiler-cum-family-saga, written by a former Hodder & Stoughton editor, and, as such, fairly successful--with considerable forward drive and lots Of characters who spin their various business and romantic webs in reasonably interesting ways. . . . . .like the novel's linchpin character, Angle Jarman Wyatt, who starts out with several strikes against her: she was raped by friends of her brother, Oliver, some 20 years ago, and more recently, lost her beloved husband, Lou, a New York City book editor. She returns to London to locate the daughter whom her aristocratic parents stashed away after her rape, but instead, ends up taking over the trade-book branch of her father's publishing company while alcoholic brother Oliver, the firm's head, checks into a sanitarium to dry out. Meanwhile, Paul Angelou, a Greek/English financier and political hopeful, forms a liaison with Angle that isn't consummated until the close, leaving Angle plenty of time to pull Jarman Publishing into order by making a huge preemptive bid on a hot new novel and by heaving out lots of dead editorial wood inside the company. (There are two subplots here: an unconvincing one concerning Paul Angelou's dastardly attempts to put his own father out of business; and the considerably more appealing story of a young literary agent who falls in love with her mentor and lands more than a few five-figure advances.) Well-done publishing detail, and Angle Wyatt is an uncommonly attractive big business woman/heroine. No blockbuster, though, but an adeptly plotted little commercial comfit.

Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION