Sheer Abandon

In 1985, three women bond during their backpacking adventures in Thailand. Fifteen years go by before their lives intersect once more. Cleo has become a geriatric doctor, trapped in an emotionally abusive marriage, Jocasta is a journalist for a tabloid newspaper, and Martha is a self-centered lawyer with political aspirations. A fourth character, Katie, abandoned at birth at Heathrow, is the daughter of one of these women. Desperately seeking her mother, she provides the narrative drive for the story. Susan Duerden's sophisticated tones give the characters forthright voices. While she persuades listeners to engage with the mystery of Kate's parentage, her delivery is, at the same time, somewhat distant. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

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.

Rosalyn Landor wraps herself in the distinctive personalities of Vincenzi's three heroines. They meet at Heathrow Airport in 1985 on their way to visit Thailand before they go off to college. Upon returning to England, one of the trio secretly gives birth to a baby girl in a cleaning closet, and abandons her in the airport. Years later, the three are reunited when the abandoned baby, now 16, sets out to find her mother. Landor's women play against each other with vigor and honesty, but her men sound implausible. It's really too bad--as this could have been satisfying entertainment. M.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine