Fortunes

In opulent settings all over the globe, Cowie (The Rich and the Mighty) spins a glitzy tale of greed, lust for power, and amorous intrigue featuring two stepsisters fighting to control their late father's auction house conglomerate. Dominique du Vivier is tiny in stature, totally gorgeous, utterly ruthless, supremely confident and very smart. Known as the Venus Flytrap because of her 'pervasive sexuality,' she manages several branches of Despard et Cie as adroitly as she controls her stunningly handsome husband, Blaise Chandler. Her stepsister Kate Mallory is tall, gaunt and plain, with a shock of red hair, but in typical fairytale fashion, she is transformed into a beauty as she rises to the challenge of her father's will. Blaise, the pivotal force between the sisters, is no slouch himself; he heads a multi-billion dollar company also controlled by his grandmother, Agatha Chandler. Part Shoshone, part grand dame, Agatha is one of the more unbelievable characters in this year's commercial fiction, since she speaks like a street urchin. Dominique does not fight fair, stooping to fraud, attempted murder, arson and a scurrilous rumor to sabotage her virtuous sister's career. Cliches abound and the ending is never in doubt, but readers who get their fixes from the troubled lives of glitterati will no doubt enjoy Cowie's frothy blend.