Harvey (Butterfly, 1988, and pseudonym for a ``major author'') offers a slick but suspenseless novel set at a glamorous mountain retreat for the rich and famous. Set atop Mount San Jacinto near Palm Springs, Star's is a top- flight, 42-room luxury retreat where Tinseltown's hottest wheelers and dealers go to lose weight, cut a deal, or indulge in forbidden romance. The owner, the mysterious Beverly Burgess, is a woman with a past: she once owned a high-class brothel (called Butterfly—the subject of Harvey's first novel) where women paid for sex with handsome young things. Beverly was clever enough to stage her own death to escape her nemesis, the evil and power-hungry Danny Mackay; she then changed her name, her appearance, and came back to life again. But what Beverly doesn't know is that Mackay is still bent on his own brand of sick revenge. Also unknown to Beverly is that she has a twin sister named Philippa Roberts (they were separated at birth when her destitute parents sold one of their daughters to a childless couple), who has spent years looking for her and, thanks to a private detective's lead, is now on her way to Star's as well. Because of the physical resemblance between the sisters, Mackay confuses Philippa with Beverly and follows her to Star's, where his attempts to kill her are thwarted by Beverly. If all this sounds pretty far-fetched, it is, and so are the other equally contrived subplots—Philippa's rise to fame and fortune as the head of a super-successful diet program; a beautiful Hollywood actress bent on seducing a screenwriter for the lead role in his new movie; etc. Meanwhile, the hackneyed descriptions of sex, the endless catalogue of brand-names, and the cookie-cutter characterizations don't help. For all its promise of dazzle, this is a lackluster attempt.
Pub Date: April 20, 1992
ISBN: 0-394-58798-7
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Villard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1992
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A little slower-paced than the typical Roberts romantic mystery (Black Hills, 2009, etc.) but every bit as steamy. It may...
A dog trainer and a wood craftsman dance around love and danger in the Pacific Northwest.
Fiona Bristow is the only victim who got away from serial killer George Perry. Now a copycat, inspired and perhaps guided by the jailed Perry, is on her trail. After Perry murdered her fiancé, Fiona rebuilt her life as a dog trainer and search-and-rescue expert on lovely Orcas Island. She’s recently met talented woodworker Simon Doyle and his misbehaving puppy Jaws, and her dormant love life is about to revive as she and the reluctant Simon slowly build a complicated relationship. Though she’s done her best to overcome her fears and make herself whole again, this new series of killings, with herself as the ultimate target, can’t help but strain her nerves. As the police and FBI track the killer, a persistent reporter makes Fiona’s life more difficult by printing information about her life and location. Through it all, Fiona keeps working. As she continues to go on rescue missions with a team that may soon include Simon and Jaws, her friends help to keep her balanced. But ultimately it will be the trust she has built up with Simon and the talents of her dogs that will change her life forever.
A little slower-paced than the typical Roberts romantic mystery (Black Hills, 2009, etc.) but every bit as steamy. It may well add dog lovers to her legion of fans.Pub Date: July 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-15657-1
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2010
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