From Amazon.com
Did Genny Haviland poison Slade Gabriel to save her adored father's art gallery or did she help the acclaimed artist kill himself before Alzheimer's disease destroyed his mind and talent? Although billed as a courtroom drama, there's not a great deal of suspense here, but that may not matter to readers who prefer their mysteries with a romantic subplot. In this engrossing, erotic novel, the affair that begins when 17-year-old Genny meets and falls in love with the married, much older Gabriel, and then spans two decades is more than a subplot--it's the whole thing. While the outcome of Genny's murder trial is hardly in doubt, it's a good frame for a nicely told story of love, art, and obsession.
--Jane Adams
From Publishers Weekly
Emotionally numb after her passion for an artist ends in tragedy, Genny Haviland faces a New York jury in this sensuous courtroom melodrama combining art world intrigue with romantic obsession. Precocious, pampered 17-year-old Genny fell for artist Slade Gabriel, more than twice her age, when he walked into her father's Madison Avenue art gallery, but as soon as he found out who she was, Gabriel ended their affair. Two decades later, an accident brings them together again, each successful in a career but not in marriage, each still longing for the other. This time the affair ends with Slade's death and grieving Genny is tried for his murder. As the story switches back and forth between the courtroom and Genny's memories, erotic passages alternate with psychological observations of Genny's doting father, distant mother and gifted, moody lover, as Genny decides whether to take the stand on her own behalf. Romance fans will savor the descriptions of sexual desire, the emotion-laden internal monologues and the web of family relationships, while followers of the art market will recognize situations resembling the scandals surrounding the Rothko estate, de Kooning's health and price-fixing among reputable art dealers. In the end, it is not the art but the intensity of erotic discovery that drives this novel, overwhelming the comparatively tame mystery as Rose (In Fidelity; Lip Service; etc.) explores the incongruities and pitfalls of family and romantic relationships in this story of sexual discovery.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
