The Triumph of Katie Byrne

February 26, 2001

Long celebrated as a bestselling chronicler of women's lives, Bradford adds a mystery twist to her latest tale of romantic suspense. At 17, Katie Byrne and her lifelong best friends, Denise and Carly, share a passion to act on Broadway and plan to move from their mid-Connecticut town to New York after high school graduation. One day, Katie's early departure from their daily after-school acting rehearsals in Denise's uncle's barn saves her from a brutal attack on the other girls. With Denise dead and Carly in a coma, Katie fears she'll be the next victim, and for a time, acting loses its appeal. Ten years later, the murderer is yet to be found, Carly remains in a coma and Katie has picked up the pieces of her life and moved to London, studying in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. When she's offered the part of Emily Brontë in a play bound for Broadway, she realizes it's the chance of a lifetime. But she's apprehensive about returning to face the ghosts of her past and hesitates to fulfill her childhood dream without her best friends to share it. Bradford sets a quick pace by introducing tough police detective Mac MacDonald, aka Mac the Knife, and by showing how Katie and her family dealing with the tragedy. The second half falls off, however, reverting mainly to inner dialogues and Katie's doubts about her ability to perform on stage. A too convenient, totally unmotivated solution to the murder caps the curiously thin narrative, in which Bradford never fully renders her characters. This is a fast but shallow read, perhaps satisfying to Bradford's fans but not a significant milestone in her career.

November 1, 2000
Katie is poised for success as an actress, but she can't forget two friends, also aspiring thespians, who were victims of a savage crime.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2001
Perennially popular Bradford's latest romantic-suspense tale stars Katie Byrne, a struggling actress who remains haunted by a horrific attack that took place when she was 17. The awful crime, which took the life of her best friend and left another friend lingering in a coma, was never solved by police, and Katie, even 10 years after the event, is obsessed by the idea that the murderer is stalking her, hoping to finish the job. Until the crime is solved, Katie will never be free to pursue romance and her promising acting career. Bradford's simplistic story lines won't win over any John Grisham fans, who demand more intricate plotting, but romantic suspense readers look first for colorful characters and plenty of romance. Those are Bradford's drawing cards, and she delivers both in abundance here. Nearly everything Bradford writes turns into a best-seller, and many of her novels become television movies. Expect more of the same this time.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)