Van Wormer (Jury Duty, 1996, etc.), apparently an insider herself, has the glamorama Hamptons scene down to a T; the real- life celebrities and loosely veiled characters (a Barbara Streisandlike diva, a Donna Karanesque designer, etc.) that fill up the cast here make for a complicated romance/mystery as voyeuristic as it is fun. When Mary Liz Scott retires from investment banking at the tender age of 33, she's ready—for the first time in her life—to relax. She assumes that her godmother Nancy Hoffman's request that Mary Liz head out to East Hampton to help her organize her late husband's estate will provide plenty of opportunities for taking it easy. But Alfred Hoffman's death may not have been an accident, and his peculiar will has the wealthy circles on Long Island abuzz. After just a few days, Mary Liz's office is broken into. Alfred's son Bertie and stepson Julius appear to know far more than they're telling. And even Nancy may have some tricks up her sleeve. Mary Liz's only respite from the madness—Nancy, a charity queen, has her attending functions practically every night—is the young, handsome Sky, a summer golf pro. But in Van Wormer's vision of the Hamptons, people are never what they seem, not even Mary Liz, who immediately installs an alarm system, secures access to Alfred's vaults, and keeps a sharp eye on everyone she meets. When Herbert Glidden (who's suing Nancy for Alfred's estate) dies, Mary Liz realizes that she's truly at risk and enters a race against time to uncover the secrets, solve the murders, and sort out the finances and dirty deals. Like reading the juiciest People magazine possible, with a convoluted yet engrossing plot and a genuine flow of suspense. (First printing of 50,000; author tour)
Pub Date: June 9, 1997
ISBN: 1-55166-280-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1997
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
To her usual mix of love, mystery, and passion, Roberts (Sanctuary, 1997, etc.)—author of 115 romancers in some 17 years—adds Renaissance art and a decidedly Medici-like family: the Joneses of Maine. Dr. Miranda Jones, nearly six feet with flaming red hair and a glacial reserve, is an archeometrist who specializes in the analyzing and dating of Renaissance bronze sculpture. Miranda hopes to secure a world-class reputation for herself by authenticating a 15th-century statue of the Dark Lady, one of the mistresses of Lorenzo the Magnificent, as the undiscovered work of a young Michelangelo. Miranda's mother, Dr. Elizabeth Standford-Jones, the emotionally remote director of the Standjo art lab in Florence, has summoned her daughter from the family's Victorian cliffside home in Jones Point, Maine, to test the statue. Meanwhile, Miranda's father, equally remote, is an archaeologist who spends more time at his digs than at home. In fact, no one in the Jones family has made a successful run at marriage, a failure that Miranda and her alcoholic brother Andrew call the Jones curse. As for the statue, when it's discovered to be a fake, Miranda sets out to prove that someone stole the original. In this she's helped by gorgeous art thief Ryan Boldari (half-Italian, half-Irish), who's come to Jones Point to steal yet another bronze, which also turns out to be a forgery. Ryan's plan had been to use Miranda as a pawn, but now, naturally, he finds himself falling hard for her. While the two search for bronzes, a standard-issue romance-novel psychotic is stalking them. Most readers will twig to the killer's identity: Here, as always, Roberts's sexual tension is more compelling than her suspense. Perhaps it's time to take a sabbatical from the pink sweatshop and turn her considerable wit and narrative skills to a more original piece of work.
Pub Date: March 23, 1998
ISBN: 0-399-14387-4
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1998
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