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Book Review By Sandra Calhoune
Dangerous to Know by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Journalist Vivienne Locke Trent is devastated when she learns of the mysterious death of her former husband, the rich and philanthropic Sebastian Locke. Pending the results of the autopsy, the police make it clear that Sebastian's death could be one of three things: accidental, suicide or murder. Vivienne, who had just met Sebastian for lunch a few days earlier, can't believe that the dynamic, powerforce that she once loved is gone. And she can't imagine that Sebastian would take his own life. Vivienne has a new mission in life - to get to the bottom of Sebastian's death and finger a killer (if there is one). The two prime suspects are Sebastian's children, Jack and Luciana. Jack had an extremely volatile relationship with his father, one that was marred by fights and feelings of abandonment. He hated living in his father's shadow. Sebastian's daughter Luciana is a chip off the old block, a woman who is bent on taking over her father's vast corporations and making a name for herself. She has big plans to give birth to several children and regenerate the Locke family tree. Luciana has always hated Vivienne with a passion; she always felt that Vivienne was standing in the way of her and her father's closeness. Neither Jack nor Luciana seems to care that their father may have been a murder victim. Sebastian was a lusty man, one who married five times and have several girlfriends and mistresses. Vivienne recalls the way in which she met Sebastian - he was her mother's lover. After her mother's death from an accidental fall Sebastian became Vivienne's lover, despite the twenty year age difference. Vivienne unearths numerous secrets and reveals petty jealousies and deep ambitions within the family members. As Vivienne digs deeper into Sebastian's origins, she discovers the shattering secret that led him to take his own life.


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - depressing/sad
How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging
Time/era of story:
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Special suspect? - relative
Murder of certain profession?
Kind of investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
descript. of violence and chases - 0 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 %
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Explicit sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - actual description of sex - rape (yeech!)
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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