Orphaned as a young child, Linda McLane lives a life of servitude and physical abuse with her guardians, her bitter and dangerous aunt and uncle. Alarmed by Linda's plight, a kindly reverend notifies her other aunt, prominent Hollywood actress Vera Sinclair, who promptly whisks Linda away from her dreary English village and off to sunny Los Angeles. On the ocean voyage, Linda begins a transformation from gawky village lass to beautiful sophisticate, a transformation aided by her very wealthy new friends, Reggie, Eve and Melanie Tweeks. Using what she learned from the Tweeks and a chivalrous Clark Gable, she finds immediate success as her aunt's secretary. Vera is working on making a spectacular comeback.
The result is a story of depth and complexity. The author tackles such issues as racism, socioeconomic inequality and sexual abuse and keeps the various plotlines moving forward quickly. There are plenty of period-appropriate cultural references (e.g., It Happened One Night, King Kong, The Scarlet Empress) and frothy descriptions of parties and socializing. These elements are a nice counterbalance to the serious themes. This is a book for adults. It contains erotic scenes explicit in their detail. The use of foreshadowing ensures that the plot twists at the conclusion are plausible but still unexpected and shocking.
(less)
Click on any of the links above to see more books like this one.