From master storyteller Barbara Taylor Bradford comes a magnificent new novel, a powerful, moving story of two women, two families, and an extraordinary friendship challenged by tragedy and a devastating secret from the past….

Some secrets are too terrible to share--even with your best friend….

Nothing hurts like the truth. A truth that has haunted Claire Benson all her life. A truth that Claire has revealed to no one, not even to her best friend, International art dealer Laura Valiant. But the friendship that has sheltered both women throughout childhood, marriage and divorce is about to meet its greatest test. Suddenly old nightmares surface as Claire turns to her dearest friend for help. And as Laura's career leads her into the past, in an investigation of artwork stolen by the Nazis, she uncovers disturbing links to the present, to Claire, and a profoundly personal reason to follow a twisted trail to its surprising end….

From the Paperback edition.

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Contemporary
Sensuality: 4

Prolific author Barbara Taylor Bradford, riding high on the success of the television adaptation of her bestselling novel A Woman of Substance, introduces her loyal readers to Laura Valiant and Claire Benson, two exceptional women who have been best friends since childhood. Each has grown up and lead interesting lives: Laura is married to the almost-too-perfect-to-be-believed Doug Casson and a partner in a successful New York art dealership, and Claire, long divorced from Dr. Philippe Lavillard, has custody of their enchanting daughter Natasha and a satisfying career as the publisher of a Parisian decorative arts magazine. While in Paris on a shopping excursion for her dealership, Laura is delighted to be able to spend time with her old friend, and when each woman encounters calamity in their personal lives, they are able to turn to each other for help and support. Although their lives diverged many years before, nothing could ever affect the deep bonds of a friendship forged so long ago--not even the disturbing discovery of Nazi-stolen fine art. For fans of Barbara Taylor Bradford, the sometimes-improbable dialogue and tidy plot will not deflect the enjoyment of a unique bond between two remarkable women. --Alison Trinkle

From Publishers Weekly

Another version of the indefatigable, headstrong heroine that's been Bradford's trademark since she first published A Woman of Substance 20 years ago appears here in a watered-down version as Laura Valiant, a New York art dealer who specializes in impressionist and post-impressionist works. Laura has what she thinks is a storybook marriage, and her closest childhood friend, Claire Benson, now publisher and editor-in-chief of a French interior design and art magazine, offers contrast as a bitter, divorced woman who dotes on her teenage daughter. Bradford's exploration of the relationship between the two women depicts a series of heartbreaks and scandals, most with more surface than substance. Claire's hidden past of childhood abuse, foreshadowed early in the book, makes the other characters appear obtuse for missing obvious clues. Meanwhile, Laura's “perfect” husband turns out to be bisexual, Claire's difficult ex-husband reappears in her daughter's life and Claire ends up confronting advanced breast cancer and battling for her life with Laura's loving support. The book tackles these all-too-familiar issues with a kind of stilted preachiness, and with often repetitive dialogue and a formulaic romance involving Laura and Claire's ex-husband. Contemporary headlines about Holocaust survivors demanding the return of Nazi-looted, privately owned works of art that surfaced in museums and private collections forms an important part of the plot, but Bradford's material on this controversial subject reads more like a newspaper article than an integrated theme. The saving grace in this, her 15th novel, is an echo of the memorable Emma Harte from Bradford's debut publication in Laura's grandmother, Megan Valiant, a strong-willed, charismatic woman who, with her colorful past and candid wisdom, will strike most readers as the real heroine of the saga. National author “High Tea” tour. (Feb.) FYI: This novel marks Bradford's return to Doubleday after several books with HarperCollins.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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