Playing the Game

December 13, 2010
In her 26th book Bradford (Breaking the Rules) embraces all the tropes of the rags-to-riches story. Although London art consultant and dealer Annette Remmington has been thoroughly educated about art by her controlling, much older husband, Marius, it's the sale of a long-lost Rembrandt for the staggeringly high sum of $20 million pounds that ultimately brings her fame. When other paintings in the seller's collection are found to be fakes, however, and Annette's newly minted rep is seriously threatened, she enlists gallery owner Malcolm Stevens, a protégé of her husband, for advice. When Marius persuades a reluctant Annette to be interviewed by a rising young journalist in order to create interest in her next auction, the decision reveals a tortured childhood for Annette and a serious criminal past for Marius. A contrived denouement, trite prose, heavy-handed foreshadowing, and too many subplot tentacles will deter all but the most loyal Bradford fan.

October 1, 2010

Bradford's latest rags-to-riches heroine is a London fine-art consultant with a dark secret--several of them, in fact.

Annette Remmington is still plagued by nightmares of the childhood sexual abuse she suffered. Rescued by a kindly aunt who paid for her education, Annette had a brief career as a painter before her marriage to dashing gallery impresario Marius Remmington, 20 years her senior. Only Marius knows of Annette's other dark secret, which gives him leverage to keep her complacent and docile. When inquiries are made about a certain Hilda Crump, Annette fears that if the truth were known, she could land in jail for murder. Now 40, Annette has scored a coup. A new client, Christopher, has inherited a cache of art from his eccentric Uncle Alec, including a Rembrandt, which Annette has just auctioned for several million pounds. There are plenty more canvases lurking at the gloomy old castle formerly owned by Uncle Alec, who, everyone agrees, went a little dotty after his fiancée, clad in her wedding gown, hanged herself in the bedroom. Annette is planning another auction for Christopher, which will include a previously unknown cast of Degas' sculpture The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, and paintings by other Impressionist masters. However, Annette and her advisors have discovered that several pieces in Uncle Alec's collection are forgeries. When Marius insists she promote her upcoming auction, she agrees to talk to Jack Chalmers, a reporter Marius has handpicked. Little does Marius suspect that Annette and Jack will immediately recognize each other as soul mates. And little does Annette know that when Marius is in Barcelona supposedly working on a book about Picasso, he's actually emulating Picasso's philandering behavior. The plotlines proliferate until we realize that secrets from Jack's childhood are the key to unlocking the dilemmas keeping him and Annette apart.

Vintage Bradford, with lavish descriptions of the pleasures of palate and palette, victims as virtuous as they are gorgeous, cruel lotharios and a satisfying if somewhat far-fetched resolution.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 1, 2010
Bradfords latest is set in the London art scene, where 39-year-old Annette Remmington has just made her first huge sale: a Rembrandt painting discovered by a young man who inherited an estate from his eccentric uncle. Suddenly Annette is the darling of the art world, and her husband, Marius, is determined to make sure she manages her success properly. Two decades older than Annette and very controlling, he hand-selects one journalist out of the many who want to interview Annette for a profile.The journalist Marius picks is Jack Chalmers, a dashing up-and-comer who is 10 years younger than Annette. Despite the age difference, sparks fly the minute they meet, and it isnt long before Annette and Jack give in to their powerful mutual attraction. But Annette is tied to Marius not just by marriage but also by a secret that she fears could destroy her if it ever came to light. There is plenty of intrigue, secrets, and steamy encounters in Taylors scintillating novel. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Awarded the OBE by the Queen, Taylor writes international bestsellers of substance and glamor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)