Trading Up

May 19, 2003
"It was the beginning of the summer of the year 2000, and in New York City, where the streets seemed to sparkle with the gold dust filtered down from a billion trades in a boomtown economy, it was business as usual." In other words, it is business as usual for bestselling author Bushnell (Sex and the City; 4 Blondes), who expands here on the career of shallow, predatory Janey Wilcox. In 4 Blondes, Wilcox was a mildly famous one-time model who bedded men based on their ability to provide her with a great house in the Hamptons for the summer. Now she has become a Victoria's Secret model, a bona fide success in her own right. As the latest summer in the Hamptons kicks off, Wilcox becomes the new best friend of the socialite Mimi Kilroy, who is eager to introduce beautiful Janey to the very rich Selden Rose, the new head of the HBO-like MovieTime. Unlike Janey's many previous hookups, Selden is the marrying kind. What ensues is a grim if well-observed account of a match made in hell. Here's the problem. There is a black hole in the center of the book in the form of Janey Wilcox, a character so dull and humorless that she makes this whole elaborate enterprise one long, boring slog. Granted, Bushnell sets out to chronicle the workings of "one of those people for whom the superficial comfortingly masks an inner void," but Wilcox is not evil enough to be interesting, not talented enough to be Mr. Ripley. Wilcox proceeds from model/prostitute to "Model/Prostitute" on the cover of the Post. But who will care? Bushnell has committed the real crime here: failure to entertain. (July)Forecast:Bushnell's name and a major marketing push should insure strong initial sales, which are bound to fall off as all but the most die-hard fans spread the word that her latest sex bomb is a dud.

June 1, 2003
First introduced in 4 Blondes, Janey Wilcox is still a gold-digging model, manipulating everyone around her (even her sister) for her own self-serving agenda. Although nearing her mid-thirties, she is at the high point of her career as a Victoria's Secret model and is the toast of New York City. Even though she is incapable of true human connection, Janey is the friend of one of the city's most famous socialites and marries one of the richest men she can find. The marriage doesn't last long, however, and Janey's scheming (she's constantly trying to prove that she's more than a dumb model) soon gets her into so much trouble that she becomes persona non grata in her social set. Janey takes off for Los Angeles, where she's a hit all over again-at least for now. It can be hard to read a novel with a heroine so lacking in redeeming qualities, but would we really want to like someone so glamorous? Sure to be a hit with the many fans of 4 Blondes and Sex and the City. Recommended for all public libraries.-Karen Core, Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2003
In " Four Blondes "(2000), Bushnell introduced readers to Janey Wilcox, a beautiful semi-successful model (and ruthlessly determined social climber) who uses her unappealing but well-connected middle-aged boyfriends for access to New York's A-list social scene. " Trading Up" finds Janey, now a Victoria's Secret model, conniving her way up yet another rung of New York's slippery high-society ladder, this time with the help of glamorous old-money socialite Mimi Kilroy. Delighted with her new life at the center of the Hamptons' social whirl, Janey is determined to cement her position, and before long she marries Selden Rose, the fabulously wealthy CEO of MovieTime. Everything is perfect--but just when Janey's future seems assured, her sordid past rears up its ugly head in the shape of Comstock Dibble, a former boyfriend who's also a bitter business rival of Selden's. " Four Blondes "won Bushnell critical acclaim and commercial success with its razor-sharp depiction of New York high life as lived by four women. Played out in the same world of air kisses and backstabbing, Janey's story is satisfyingly dishy and as addictively readable the second time around. Expect high demand for Bushnell's latest.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)