Author Description

Product DescriptionA compelling story of old loves and old secrets.Sebastian, the fifty-six-year-old patriarch of the Locke clan, is handsome, charismatic, a man of immense charm and intelligence. He heads up the philanthropic Locke Foundation, funded by the vast family fortune built by his forefathers. Committed to relieving the suffering of those in genuine need, Locke travels the globe, personally giving away millions a year to the poor, the sick, and the victims of natural disasters and wars. He is seen as a beacon of light in today's darkly violent world. That is why the police are so baffled when Sebastian is found dead in mysterious circumstances. Has he been murdered, and if so who would want to kill the world's greatest philanthropist? Could such an upstanding man have enemies?Vivienne Trent, an American journalist, met Locke as a child, married him, divorced him, but stayed close to him. Aware that there was another side to this engimatic man, she sets out to find the truth about his death and about Locke himself.From the PublisherSebastian Locke, the fifty-six-year-old patriarch of a powerful American family, is handsome, charismatic and a man of immense charm and intelligence. He is the chairman of the philanthropic Locke Foundation, funded by the bast family fortune built by his forefathers. Committed to relieving the suffering of those in genuine need, Locke travels the globe giving away millions a year to the poor, the sick and the innocent victims of natural disasters and wars. He seems to be a beacon of light in today's darkly violent world.That is why the police are profoundly baffled when Sebastian Locke is found dead at his country estate under mysterious circumstances. Has he been murdered? And if so, who would have wanted to kill the world's greatest philanthropist? Could such an upstanding man have had enemies? As in all of her previous bestsellers, Barbara Taylor Bradford engages you from the very first page in this startling new novel. From Connecticut to Provence, Paris, London and Africa, Bradford masterfully steers you through the turbulent emotional gamut of Locke family life -- the love, lust and passion, the ambition, jealousy and pain.From Publishers WeeklyHate, lust and considerable intrigue propel Bradford's latest (after Everything to Gain), a romantic mystery. Sebastian Locke, the last great philanthropist, has the world at his fingertips?power, money and a beautiful fiancee. Suddenly, mysteriously, he commits suicide?or does he? The answer is unveiled through a series of first-person narratives by members of his dysfunctional family. Vivien, his third wife, who seduced, married and divorced Sebastian but remained his confidante, will stop at nothing to learn the truth behind his death. But the philanthropist's son, Jack, hated his father with a passion that rendered the younger man impotent; glad to be out from under his father's shadow, he couldn't care less about the truth. Meanwhile, Luciana, the fragile daughter with a will of iron that matches her father's, is determined to gain control of Sebastian's assets and to start a new Locke dynasty of her own. Bradford's writing style is dialogue-heavy and laid-back, sometimes passionless, but the clever and unexpected plot twists, capped by the revelation of Sebastian's shattering secret, will keep the author's many fans entranced. $250,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections; simultaneous HarperAudio release; simultaneous large print edition from G.K. Hall; author tour; rights: Janklow & Nesbit.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.Review`Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world's best at spinning yarns.' GuardianAbout the AuthorBarbara Taylor Bradford was born and raised in England. She started her writing career on the Yorkshire Evening Post and later worked as a journalist in London. Her firs