- Hardcover: 374 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (10 July 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312364474
- ISBN-13: 978-0312364472
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.5 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,151,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Am in the process of reading this book, has had me completely engrossed, since page one. Love Adlers books, and have read many of them. Delighted with my purchase.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
15 reviews
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Escape to the World of Elizabeth Adler
28 Mar 2008
Format:Hardcover
From Paris to Shanghai to Venice and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Elizabeth Adler takes the reader on a suspenseful adventure filled with romance, murder, handsome strangers, dowager aunts, and a mysterious treasure.
Precious Rafferty is an American expatriate living in Paris. Her small antiques store and close friends are her life until handsome Bennett James walks into her world. At 38, Precious is not as sophisticated as the reader might expect, and this intriguing man sweeps her off her feet in a whirlwind romance that is too good to be true. The fast-paced action is just beginning as we discover Bennett also has a connection with Precious' cousin Lily in Shanghai, a relative she has never met but who is also in the antiques business. Alas, Lily's business is decidedly shadier and most of her deals are done in back alleys and are highly illegal. With the help of her assistant, Mary Lou Chen, an unscrupulous beauty, the two walk a highly dangerous path. Mary Lou has fallen in love with Bennett and his trail of broken hearts from Shanghai to Paris is about to converge in Venice.
Adler lets us escape into the luxurious life of jet-setters and those who aspire to be jet-setters. Her trademark skill in recreating the local color of the world's most exotic cities serves the reader well here as we are treated to a costume carnival in Venice, the quaint cafes of Paris, and the underworld of Shanghai.
Let yourself get caught up in this gripping tale of deceit and desire and enjoy the trip to some of the world's most exciting places.
Precious Rafferty is an American expatriate living in Paris. Her small antiques store and close friends are her life until handsome Bennett James walks into her world. At 38, Precious is not as sophisticated as the reader might expect, and this intriguing man sweeps her off her feet in a whirlwind romance that is too good to be true. The fast-paced action is just beginning as we discover Bennett also has a connection with Precious' cousin Lily in Shanghai, a relative she has never met but who is also in the antiques business. Alas, Lily's business is decidedly shadier and most of her deals are done in back alleys and are highly illegal. With the help of her assistant, Mary Lou Chen, an unscrupulous beauty, the two walk a highly dangerous path. Mary Lou has fallen in love with Bennett and his trail of broken hearts from Shanghai to Paris is about to converge in Venice.
Adler lets us escape into the luxurious life of jet-setters and those who aspire to be jet-setters. Her trademark skill in recreating the local color of the world's most exotic cities serves the reader well here as we are treated to a costume carnival in Venice, the quaint cafes of Paris, and the underworld of Shanghai.
Let yourself get caught up in this gripping tale of deceit and desire and enjoy the trip to some of the world's most exciting places.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Not up to Adler standards... not at all.
15 Oct 2007
Format:Hardcover
Honestly, I found this novel mostly annoying. The personality of Precious, the main character, I'd characterize as a mixture of naiveté, stupidity, and childish willfulness. Not as cute as the author probably intended.
And while I am not a raging feminist by any means, haven't these feeble, stubborn femmes who require rescuing by a smart, strong hero become a dated cliche by now? I mean, rescuing is ok, but the stereotype of a woman, dumb as a tree stump, contrasted with the clever, sharp man, is just... yuk. Not amusing.
Nor did I find the storyline particularly believable. The lack of coherence included things like characters murdering other characters for reasons completely lacking in any logic. For instnce, an intelligent murderer would certainly not murder someone from whom he expects to gain a fortune until murderer is quite sure where the fortune is and how to get it. It felt like this was a movie in which some of the important parts got left on the cutting room floor.
I was left wondering... did Elizabeth Adler actually write this book?
And while I am not a raging feminist by any means, haven't these feeble, stubborn femmes who require rescuing by a smart, strong hero become a dated cliche by now? I mean, rescuing is ok, but the stereotype of a woman, dumb as a tree stump, contrasted with the clever, sharp man, is just... yuk. Not amusing.
Nor did I find the storyline particularly believable. The lack of coherence included things like characters murdering other characters for reasons completely lacking in any logic. For instnce, an intelligent murderer would certainly not murder someone from whom he expects to gain a fortune until murderer is quite sure where the fortune is and how to get it. It felt like this was a movie in which some of the important parts got left on the cutting room floor.
I was left wondering... did Elizabeth Adler actually write this book?
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Sets women's liberation back 50 years (at least)
27 Jun 2008
Format:Kindle Edition
Getting through this horrid novel was an ordeal far worse than the perils the moronically named "Preshy" or any of the other ridiculous characters in this monumentally stupid book had to face. It made one long for a canal to drown in (the evil murderer's venue of choice).
The supposedly liberated heroine (she must be, she and her friends use the "f" word) was incapable of making anything other than the stupidest of decisions after excruciatingly detailed, I hesitate to use the word, "thought" processes. In the end, she still had to have a man (complete with a past) come to her rescue. Unfortunately, he made it on time... Predictably, the evildoer suffers the same fate as his too dumb to get away victims, though I'm sure the author saw it as delicious irony.
I suggest cleaning the bathrooms, even public ones, as a more worthy occupation than reading this vile insult to female intelligence.
The supposedly liberated heroine (she must be, she and her friends use the "f" word) was incapable of making anything other than the stupidest of decisions after excruciatingly detailed, I hesitate to use the word, "thought" processes. In the end, she still had to have a man (complete with a past) come to her rescue. Unfortunately, he made it on time... Predictably, the evildoer suffers the same fate as his too dumb to get away victims, though I'm sure the author saw it as delicious irony.
I suggest cleaning the bathrooms, even public ones, as a more worthy occupation than reading this vile insult to female intelligence.
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