Roman Ö clef about superhomemaker Martha Stewart, a colossus idolized by millions. Few readers (or reviewers) will know how closely Booth (Marry Me, 1996, etc.) limns her subject’s real life. But that doesn’t mean Stewart doesn’t lend to every page its charge. Booth evokes features of the idol’s character and career persuasively enough to suggest (as many will believe) a strong resemblance. And as an “American icon,” Stewart is certainly fair game. Back in 1970, young Kate Branagan, a magazine photographer’s expert model, is waitressing at Max’s Kansas City and serving the Warhol Factory superstars when she meets and marries, then moves to the Hamptons with, rising star literary agent Peter Haywood. Peter sees that Kate’s huge organizational skill masquerades as spontaneity—and he knows how to sell it. A subplot contrasts Kate’s life with that of self-sacrificing surgeon Donna Gardiner, who sees herself as a “romantic billiard ball on the rebound on the green baize pool table of life.” Kate’s soon handling weekend meals for Hamptons millionaires; backed by Peter, she rises to fame as a magazine and book publisher, TV hostess, etc., who lures audiences with her easygoing charm and sincerity. Kate’s broadening business activities, however, dry up her marriage and her caregiving for daughter Sam. Time comes, in fact, when Peter, ousted as her chief business partner, runs off with Martha Stewart’s, or rather Kate Haywood’s, chief assistant Ruth, who has absorbed her boss’s full range of skills. Peter’s defection leaves Kate on Prozac and her empire dwindling, while pale Peter and vampire Ruth start out, first, to create a rival homemaking empire and then to steal Kate’s altogether. A sheer Bette Davis weeper ending (call it White Victory). But with attractive, versatile Stewart’s face seeping through every page, who could miss?
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-10212-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1999
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
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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