Review by Booklist Review
Cady Briggs, a Santa Barbara^-based art consultant specializing in decorative arts and antiques, has been doing some work for Mack Easton, who runs a company called Lost and Found that tracks the movement of art and antiquities. When her eccentric aunt Vesta, an excellent swimmer, drowns, Cady has a hunch that something isn't right, especially since Vesta left controlling shares of Chatelaine, her tony art gallery, to her instead of to cousin Sylvia, Chatelaine's much more business-oriented CEO. Convinced that Vesta was trying to tell her something about an impending merger between Chatelaine and rival gallery Austrey-Post, Cady enlists Mack to help uncover the truth. They discover that Austrey-Post has been passing off as genuine antiques some pieces of furniture that are counterfeits. Who is behind the forgeries? Is it Jonathan Arden, who uses psychic powers to authenticate old furniture? Or Randall Post, who was once married to Cady for nine days? Or Stanford Felgrove, CEO of Austrey-Post and Randall's obnoxious stepfather? The fact that Cady and Mack pose as a couple in order to deflect attention from the investigation only serves to reinforce their growing attraction. Picture Michael Douglas as the sensitive (he's a widower) yet virile Mack, and maybe Michelle Pfeiffer as the feisty yet vulnerable Cady. The plot zips along with barely a nod to subtleties of character and language, but with just the right doses of glitz, mystery, and sex to satisfy Krentz's zillions of fans. --Mary Ellen Quinn
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Art consultant Cady Briggs has a bit of a crush on occasional employer Mack Easton, owner of "Lost and Found," a company specializing in the recovery of lost or stolen artifacts. She has only talked with him over the telephone and exchanged e-mails, but it's enough to make her think of him as her Fantasy Man. Naturally, she leaps at the chance to meet him in person, even if he needs her expertise in a case involving a questionable antique helmet missing from a tacky Las Vegas "museum." Mack turns out to be every bit as exciting as Cady imagined, and he is as interested in her as she is in him. Complications abound Cady's aunt recently left her niece with a business she doesn't want but can't turn down, Mack's teenage daughter isn't thrilled to discover that her widowed father has a sex life, and Cady is beginning to have doubts about her aunt's "accidental" drowning. This is romantic suspense at its most enjoyable, enhanced by Krentz's (Flash, Soft Focus) trademark humor and quirky characters. Fans will be very happy with this entertaining and delightful read. Recommended for all popular fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/00.] Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In the latest from perennial bestseller Krentz (Soft Focus, 2000), an art expert uncovers a forgery scam . . . and falls in love. Cady Briggs has a discerning eye for whats fake and whats fabulous. She was taught by one of the best: her elegant, imperious great-aunt Vesta. A dealer in valuable bibelots from every century, Vesta assists wealthy collectors with private purchases and runs a tony gallery called Chatelaine. Cady consults on a few cases for Mack Easton, whose Internet company specializes in the discreet recovery of stolen treasures for well-heeled clients whod rather not go to the police. They never meet in person, however, until a priceless piece of medieval Italian armor goes missing and they track it down together. Mack turns out to be gorgeous, sexy, urbane, mature, and (sigh) available, but Cady keeps her distance. Watchful as always where her beloved great-niece is concerned, Vesta offers a few words of cryptic advice, then drowns mysteriously in her own swimming pool. Cady happens onto evidence that connects Vesta to a self-styled psychic who preys on gullible collectors wanting to know the provenance of the antiques they covet. Was this unsavory character to blame for her aunts death? Or was it one of several relatives who were scheming to merge Chatelaine and a rival gallery, thus cornering the market in bodacious bric-a-brac? Much nefarious pussyfooting ensues, although the mayhem is definitely on the genteel side, and the antique-dealer villains seem more dainty than devilish. Krentzs intricate plot is fitted as neatly as marquetry, and her capable heroine is appealing: single, successful, and not in the least apologetic about wanting sex. Yes, Cady beds the dishy Mack several times, offers sage advice and snappy one-liners to one and all, and eventually, of course, nabs the bad guys. Formulaic but smooth suspense, mostly for the fans, who will love it. Book-of-the-Month Club/Doubleday Book Club main selection; author tour
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
