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THE TOUCH

A colorful tale about colorful characters in colorful places and times. Vintage McCullough.

Back in her native Australia after her notable chronicles of the ancient Romans, McCullough depicts a brilliant man who has the golden touch in everything but his marriage.

In a big sweep that covers much of the globe during the late 1800s, McCullough (The October Horse, 2002, etc.) introduces Alexander Kinross and the woman, Elizabeth, he sends for and marries. A man who never knew his father, Alexander leaves Scotland as a teenager in the mid-1800s determined to prove the local bigots wrong about his abilities. He moves to England and studies engineering, then goes on to California, where, with his nose for gold, he makes a bundle in the Gold Rush. Next is Australia, where he discovers more gold and establishes Kinross, a model town. Now immensely rich, and the owner of a magnificent house, he sends for Elizabeth, last seen as a child in Scotland, to be his bride. At 16, Elizabeth is too frightened of her dour skinflint of a father to disobey his orders to leave for Australia, but from the moment she meets Alexander, she’s repelled. Nearly losing her life in the process, she bears him two daughters, brilliant Nell and brain-damaged Anna. Told that Elizabeth should not have more children, Alexander spends more time with Ruby, his mistress, the woman he really loves. Paradoxically, Ruby, a former madam and the mother of brilliant half-Chinese Lee, becomes Elizabeth’s best friend and helps her deal with adolescent Anna’s rape, the murder of Anna’s rapist by her Chinese nurse, and the birth of Anna’s child. Though Alexander becomes an international tycoon, Elizabeth remains unimpressed. Only Lee, a few years younger than she and back from studying in England, touches her heart. But Elizabeth still has much to endure before Alexander, a fundamentally generous man, realizes the unwitting harm he has done to her and makes spectacular, if tragic, amends.

A colorful tale about colorful characters in colorful places and times. Vintage McCullough.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2003

ISBN: 0-684-85330-2

Page Count: 464

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2003

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THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.

Life lessons.

Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.

Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.

Pub Date: July 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-345-46750-7

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004

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MAGIC HOUR

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.

Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.

Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.

Pub Date: March 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-345-46752-3

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Ballantine

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005

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