I ve read Dunant s historical fiction and absolutely loved it This, I knew, would be a departure, different genre, different decade, etc and yet I still expected a certain level of quality which this book had not met Genre wise this one is something of a romantic drama trying to be a psychological thriller, at times regrettably veering off into something positively chicklit like At the heart of if is a love triangle of sortso best female friends and a man one of them falls for and the other trie [...]

I had previously read Sarah Dunant s Sacred Hearts and whilst I appreciated her elegant and descriptive writing style I found the book itself a bit of a chore to read although I ultimately liked it But I found none of that with this one.I just love the way Dunant writes It really draws me in I feel like every word I read is carefully thought out and there are no repetitions unless there needs to be It affords the book a real sense of freshness As for the story, jumping straight in with a sense o [...]

This story of a woman s friend who s drawn into the shady world of drug smuggling is a bit different Much literary fiction than a fast paced thriller, the story is told from the viewpoint of Marla, as she tries to untangle her friend Elly from the clutches of Lenny, the clever and charismatic drug dealer Sounds just my sort of story butThe writing is very good, I ve read others of Dunant s and liked them, and the plot with its twists and turns, always teasing the reader with different versions [...]

Dunant is a wonderful story teller, and she weaves twists into her works so effortlessly this would have been 3 1 2 if allowed This is a modern era work that deals with greed, corruption, drugs, and murder among other things While well handled this is not the stuff of her medieval pieces Very much worth the effort

I love Sarah Dunant s style of writing, as it makes me feel like I m right there with the characters I enjoyed this story because there were only a few characters, yet it was very intense and thrilling The story centers around two central relationships and the cocaine drug trade I found it all very fascinating.

Big fan of Sarah Dunant s Borgia books and this earlier work is a thriller involving friendship and cocaine not the the best pairing Ms Dunant knows how to write and this is a pretty good read.

Couldn t get past the first chapter Lacks the verve of her historical novels.

SillyThe story started off interesting but by midway had gotten confusing and nonsensical The ending was quite convoluted and boring.

Three and a half stars Described as a suspense novel, this first effort by Dunant starts slow but picks up after 100 pages Elly writes to her long time friend Marla, who she hasn t had contact in years The letter is a plea for help and Marla comes to help Elly is tring to free herself from a man involved in a questionable business Who is telling the truth and who could get hurt Good read but not as good as Dunant s Sacred Hearts, The Birth Of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan, or Blood Beau [...]

This novel was highly praised and I wish I knew why Two childhood English friends stay close until one leaves to experience life around the world They lose touch for two years and then a letter is received indicating that the friend is in New York and needs her to come immediately She does and it turns out the friend is in a serious relationship with a drug dealer but she wants to leave him Who cares Nothing happens until the end but I was not ever connected to any of the characters I am so glad [...]

Two best friends One gets caught up with a king pin cocaine smuggler way too deep The other comes to help her get back on her feet They both go through many layers of lies and betrayal in trying to figure out how to get out, how to stay ahead and who it is that is after them Actually quite a good story Believable, exciting, and hard to put down as the layers are peeled away I enjoyed it.

Sarah Dunant s first novel, The Birth of Venus, is still one of my favorite books of all time This is a nice follow up from a gifted writer I too had trouble putting this book down She intricately draws her characters so you feel you know them, and care about what happens to them This novel takes place in London, NYC, California, and beyond, as Dunant weaves a rich tale saturated with suspense Highly recommend, and now I have to seek out other books she s written in between.

An amazing book Nearly compulsive reading Characterization is flawless Scenes and settings are vivid without an overabundance of detail This is one of those books that were written to be talked about Drunkenly, with a good friend I will not spoil the ending, but it won t be the one you expected given the beginning of the book And you might hate it as much as I did.

I thoroughly enjoy Sarah Dunant s historical fiction novels The Birth of Venus, In the Company of Courtesans and Sacred Hearts, but this venture into different territory didn t do a thing for me I never felt connected with the characters in any way, the story rather dragged on and overall it was disappointing I rarely say this, but it felt like a chore to get it finished.

I really loved the Birth of Venus, and In the Company of the Courtesan, so I was stoked to pick this up for an easy read It was totally boring, not very believable, and overall, uninspiring I kept reading because I thought it might get better, but, unfortunately, it didn t Good thing I m a fast reader, I only wasted a few days on this book.

with this book, I can say that Sarah Dunant may be one of my favorite authors The Birth of Venus is in my top 5, and with Snowstorms in a Hot Climate it may just solidify this She is such a colorful writer, that I get brought into the story, and never want to leave I highly recommend this book

Shortly after I started reading this book I realized that I had already read it, but couldn t remember the ending As I continued I remembered that it was because I hadn t liked the ending The story was very promising but ultimately I was disappointed.

This book, which I came upon by accident, is dark and a bit shocking, but the most amazing fast page turner that you can t put down Strange actually, but a great read for a vacation when that s just what you need.

This psychological thriller focuses on a woman s passionate love affair with a cocaine dealer nadn the intervention of her girlfrien, who tries to save her Very exciting, different world than mine fortunately

I liked this book better than Fatlands, but not as well as the Birth of Venus Character development and the story itself were both pretty good It left me thinking that I might give another Sarah Dunant book a try, but I m not going to rush to buy it when one of her new books hits the stands.

An intriguing, although somewhat glamorized, look into the drug underworld The characters are well developed and I had the sense was right there with them as I read A fast read that makes us question who we can really trust.

It took me a while to finally finish reading this book Been at it for 6 weeks it had a slow build up for me, and by then ed, I got into it I had to keep going back for information in the previous passages, as it seemed I had lost interest in the book

This just wasn t entertaining for me whatsoever I did enjoy Birth of Venus by her Most of the characters in this novel were one dimensional I ll forget it soon.

Sarah is the consummate story teller

Drug smuggling in Colombia.

Quite boring, a delusion after her compelling The birth of Venus

Very different from Sarah Dunant s other novels A fun mystery, but not as well written at Birth of Venus or In the Company of the Courtesan.

As much as I really like Dunant s other books, I think I may have missed the underlying theme for the majority of the book until the end SMH

A surprisingly good read

Another strange plotbut definitely worthwhile to read it