About the Author

Barbara Taylor Bradford was born in Leeds, and by the age of twenty was an editor and columnist on Fleet Street. In 1979, her first novel, A Woman of Substance, was published. That enduring bestseller was followed by sixteen others. Her novels have sold more than sixty million copies worldwide. She lives with her husband, film producer Robert Bradford.

Reviews

Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford: 'Queen of the genre.' Sunday Times ‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns.’ Guardian ‘A classic saga of loyalty, secrets, passion and intrigue…if you’ve been suffering withdrawal symptoms from Downton, this is for you’ Daily Mail ‘As romantic and thrilling as the rest’ Independent on Sunday ‘Another great yarn from the ultimate storyteller’ The Sun ‘The storyteller of substance.’ The Times

Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford:

'Queen of the genre.' Sunday Times

'Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world's best at spinning yarns.' Guardian

'A classic saga of loyalty, secrets, passion and intrigue...if you've been suffering withdrawal symptoms from Downton, this is for you' Daily Mail

'As romantic and thrilling as the rest' Independent on Sunday

'Another great yarn from the ultimate storyteller' The Sun

'The storyteller of substance.' The Times

The unexpected suicide of billionaire philanthropist Sebastian Locke troubles Vivienne Trent, who knows that only some horrible revelation could have motivated his self-destruction. Vivienne investigates, and along the way readers share the perspectives of Sebastian's two children before a mysterious countess provides a horrifying explanation. The facile psychological explanations, laced with jargon to explain Sebastian's inability to love, may grate on some readers. A series of improbable coincidences and the large age gaps between sexual partners that figure in the plot resolution may bother others. Still, the central drive to solve the riddle pulls the reader along. Hints of the next Locke generation plus a romance in progress for Vivienne point to a sequel. Bradford's (Angel, Random, 1993) popularity and the selection of her novel by major book clubs ensure heavy public library demand. [A Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/95.]‘Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.