Sheer Abandon

Starred review from January 15, 2007
British bestseller Vincenzi (No Angel
) pulls out all the stops in this orchestral saga. In 1985, three young British women meet in a Heathrow departure lounge en route to precollege sojourns. One of them, upon her return to England, secretly gives birth and abandons the baby in a cleaning supplies closet at the airport; "Baby Bianca" captivates the public's sympathies until she is adopted. The mystery of who her mother is serves as the spine of this fat, satisfying novel, and Vincenzi creates multiple intrigues around the three women: Jocasta, a rising tabloid journalist (Vincenzi wrote for Vogue
and Cosmopolitan
); Clio, a physician specializing in geriatrics; and Martha, a corporate lawyer running for Parliament. It's 16 years before they all meet again, and Baby Bianca has matured into a stunning blonde teen, Kate, who is summarily exploited by a ruthless fashion editor as she searches for her mother. The various narrative themes crescendo through several all-hands-on-deck scenes, including a swank party where daughter almost meets mother, and a packed funeral where someone figures out who the father is. Although some of the male characters are too overbearing to be believed (especially Clio's sneering surgeon husband), the women are, without exception, multifaceted, smart and brave, and their happiness is hard won. A U.K. bestseller, the book offers major escape and abandon for summer.

February 15, 2007
Three young British women meet on a plane to Thailand in 1985. A year later, on her way home after living the high life in Bangkok, one of them abandons her newborn baby in a broom closet at Heathrow. Fast-forward to 2000, when random circumstances reunite the three womenalong with teenage Kate, who loves her nice, stable family but longs to find her birth mother. Who's the mum? There's gentle and caring Clio, a doctor trapped in a loveless marriage; high-powered and high-strung lawyer Martha, who's just been tapped to be a major political leader; or freewheeling tabloid reporter Jocasta, living glamorously in London. Vincenzi's ("No Angel") novel starts with the promise of a page-turning romp à la Jackie Collins, but at more than 600 pages, it limps along. It is also heavy on the British jargon, which may throw some readers off. Others might think they've read the plot beforeShirley Conran's "Lace", anyone? Unfortunately, this is a pale imitation. For larger women's fiction collections.[See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 1/07.]Rebecca Vnuk, River Forest P.L., IL

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2007
Clio, Jocasta, and Martha, three college students on a backpacking holiday to Thailand, bond as only young women in an unfamiliar environment can: immediately, passionately, and with earnest intentions of adhering to their starry-eyed pledge of eternal friendship. Life, however, gets in the way. Some 15 years go by before the threesome--now a respected physician, tabloid journalist, and powerful attorney--are reunited. The catalyst is Kate, the adopted daughter of a staid, middle-class family who is determined to locate the woman who abandoned her after giving birth in a deserted corner of Heathrow Airport the same month Clio, Jocasta, and Martha returned from their Asian escapade. Vincenzi leaves no doubt that one of the three is Kate's mother, but cunningly leads both the reader and Kate on a merry chase as she weaves the trio's tumultuous lives into a captivating tapestry of failed marriages, unrequited love affairs, and political and professional subterfuge. The result is an absorbing tale rich in seductive intrigue and emotional impact. In spite of creating not quite fully dimensional characters, Vincenzi, wildly popular in Britain, will please her growing American audience, especially fans of Barbara Taylor Bradford, with this compelling tale of loves lost and found.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)