2010 October 05

Book Review: The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro

Title: The Debutante
Author: Kathleen Tessaro
Publisher: Avon A
Publication Date: October 5, 2010
Paperback: 400 pages
ISBN: 978-0061125782
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Can the secrets of one woman’s past change another woman’s future?

A gifted artist, Cate has come to London from New York to escape her recent past. Working for her aunt’s auction house, she is sent down to Devon to value the contents of Endsleigh House, the once gracious but now crumbling estate of a former socialite. There, hidden in the back of a dusty bookshelf, Cate discovers an old shoebox. Inside is a strange assortment of objects: an exquisite pair of dancing shoes circa 1930; a diamond brooch; a photograph of a young sailor; a dance card; and a pearl and emerald Tiffanys bracelet.

Intrigued by her find, Cate sets out to solve the mystery of the box, becoming immersed in the story of its owner, Baby Blythe. Bright, beautiful, and reckless, Baby was the most famous debutante of her generation . . . and the most dangerous. As the clues begin to reveal a shocking tale of destructive, addictive love, Cate finds herself being drawn deeper into Baby’s tragic life story—a story that will force Cate to face some dark truths about her own.

My Review:

The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro is a beautiful book about lives interwoven decades apart in Devon, England, in Endsleigh House to be precise. Rachel, asks for her niece Katie, now calling herself Cate Albion, to work with her assistant Jack, a self professes loner, cataloguing the contents of Endsleigh House after the death of Lady Avalon in preparation for an auction when she stumbles upon a box most intriguing and begins to try and unravel the mystery of the Blythe sisters, especially the 1941 disappearance of Diana Blythe. Tessaro exquisitely weaves together the modern day lives of Jack and Cate, two people trying to come to terms with their lives alternating back to the lives of debutantes Irene and Diana Blythe through letters, the first one dated 1926. The Debutante is a beautiful and insightful look at society and how people relate to each other and with themselves, secrets, and scandals. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Irene’s and Diana’s experiences being debutantes and seeing London society, and the world, for that matter, through their eyes. The stories of Cate’s life as well as Jack’s were also quite compelling and while I enjoyed learning more about each of them and their respective troubled paths, my favourite parts were the letters and then of course the mystery. The Debutante is the first book of Kathleen Tessaro’s that I have read and if this novel is any indication of the depth and breadth of her writing ability, then I shall be reading her previous books. I would not hesitate to recommend The Debutante to any reader and think this would make an excellent discussion group pick.

About the Author:

Born in Pittsburgh, Kathleen Tessaro emigrated to London where she worked as an actress in films, television, and theater, while training to be a drama teacher and voice coach. She is the author of the novels Elegance, Innocence, and The Flirt. Kathleen currently lives in Pennsylvania.

For more reviews of the book, please follow the book tour.

I received a complimentary copy of The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

Book Spotlight: A Despicable Profession by John Knoerle

Title: A Despicable Profession: Book Two of The American Spy Trilogy
Author: John Knoerle
Publisher: Blue Steel Press
Publication Date: July 13, 2010
Paperback: 310 pages
ISBN: 978-0982090305
Genre: Fiction, Spy

Book Synopsis:

May, 1946. America is basking in hard-won peace and prosperity. The OSS has been disbanded, CIA does not yet exist. Rumors swirl about the Red Army massing tanks along the Elbe in East Germany.

Former OSS agent Hal Schroeder gets an offer from Global Commerce LTD to be a trade rep in Berlin. He flies to New York to meet his new boss. Hal’s jaw drops when former OSS Chief Wild Bill Donovan strides in. Schroeder, who survived perilous duty behind German lines, says he is no longer interested in being a spy. General Donovan assures him that’s not part of his job description.

Hal comes to doubt that when he meets his immediate superior in Berlin. It’s Victor Jacobson, the case officer who sent him on repeated suicide missions in WWII.

About the Author:

John Knoerle was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1949 and migrated to California with his family in the 1960s. He has worked as a stand-up comic, a voiceover actor and a radio reporter. He wrote the screenplay for “Quiet Fire,” which starred Karen Black and Lawrence Hilton Jacobs, and the stage play “The He-Man Woman Hater’s Club,” an LA Time’s Critics Choice. John also worked as a writer for Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.”

Knoerle’s first novel, Crystal Meth Cowboys, published in 2003, was optioned by Fox TV. His second novel, The Violin Player, won the Mayhaven Award for Fiction. Knoerle is currently at work on The American Spy Trilogy. Book One, A Pure Double Cross, came out in 2008. Book Two, A Despicable Profession, was published in August of 2010.

John Knoerle currently lives in Chicago with his wife, Judie.

You can visit his website at www.bluesteelpress.com.

John Knoerle’s A DESPICABLE PROFESSION VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘10 officially began on September 7 and will end on October 29, 2010. You can visit John’s blog tour stops here during the months of September and October to find out more about this great book and talented author!

I received a complimentary copy of A Despicable Profession by John Knoerle from Pump Up Your Book Promotion as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.