From Publishers Weekly
Brimming with bridled British passion, this novel by the author of Daughter of Riches combines mystery and melodrama in a world where everything is "somehow darkly dangerous" and women make love like an "active volcano." The setting is the high-fashion firm of designer Dinah Marshall, who, with her late husband, Van Kendrick, created the world-famous leatherwear empire, Vandina. Now Dinah's right arm, her capable and committed personal assistant, Rosalie Newman, vanishes without a word to stolid steady beau, Mike Thompson. The police assume Ros took a powder from the demands of her glamorous employer and her drunkard ex-husband, ex-radio personality Brendan Newman; but Ros's sister, Maggie Veritos, returns to England from her Corfu home to join Mike's efforts to locate errant Ros. Aroused by suspicion and each other, quashing fears of the worst and sparks of attraction, Maggie and Mike discover a trail of skulduggery, industrial espionage and three decades of deceit involving Vandina. Even in death, Van's presence presides, even if mollified by the appearance of the sexy and sinister son Dinah was forced to give up at birth. Interweaving detailed inner landscapes, Tanner's twisty yet foreseeable maneuvers are deftly delivered.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Dinah Marshall, recently widowed and trying to maintain both the executive and creative sides of her internationally acclaimed fashion company, Vandina, is thrilled by the sudden appearance of her adult son, given up at birth, and immediately takes him into her confidence about business secrets. When competitors turn up with plans slickly parallel to Vandina's, there are several suspects, including Dinah's executive assistant, Ros Newman, who has suddenly disappeared. Despite what the police believe, Newman's boyfriend, Mike Thompson, is certain Ros would not have taken a sudden vacation or left town without alerting her boss or himself. He sets out to track her down, aided by Ros' sister, Maggie. What they find are lies that go back over 30 years. Tanner's novel has plenty of cleverly linked familial, romantic, and business entanglements, sure to keep her readers amused and musing to the very end.
Denise Perry Donavin
