‘THE GARDINER WOMEN’ BY DAVIDYNE MAYLEAS

 

It has been a while since I ventured into a paperback original like this spotlighted novel here. Almost a year, I believe. I’ll go even further and state that it has been a long time since I ventured into anything trashy. Sure, I’ve read the obligatory novel for the obligatory review on my blog, but to really pick up something just for the fun of it, well, it seems like decades. That’s why Davidyne Mayleas’ THE GARDINER WOMEN (1993) feels like heaven-sent. Besides being quite good, it also reminds me how exhilarating these reads can overall be, and Mayleas next to last novel for Avon pushes all the right buttons.

 

As the title suggests, THE GARDINER WOMEN focuses on female protagonists, three of them. First there’s Millie, the aging screen legend now owner of an independent TV station. She is plagued with a future of uncertainty and needs to make sure that her fortune goes to the right kin. Enter Nora, the headstrong TV executive granddaughter caught between the past and the present. She wants it all: love and career, but at what cost? Following in her footsteps there’s Ali, the wild and scheming second granddaughter who’s an ace at getting what she wants. Until she is knocked out of her pedestal in a no holds barred confrontation that will leave her shaken to the core. All three women flourish and then fall but rise up again, amidst the hectic world of the entertainment industry.

 

Yes, I must admit, novels about the biz have always been my thing, and this one does it justice indeed, though the plot veers more on personal problems than on the ABC of the business. The most absorbing of those inner struggles are of Nora, the exec, and with good reasons since she is the story main focus.  She is what you call the good gal, the one the reader wants to root for. The author aptly does that via a tight-woven plot which also involves Wall Street. You see, Nora is linked to a rising power broker, so part of the story is centered on such terms as stocks, acquisitions, selling points...

 

If you have looked over at my additional blog entries regarding Mayleas’ work you probably know that the world of finance is a big part of the author’s territory. Other than her novel THE RICHEST GIRL IN THE WORLD the topic, however, is relatively toned down to make room for the more involving drama. Her narrative is always sharp, to the point, with enough character development and description of wealth and romance to quench fans thirst for the sex and shopping novel. I say grab THE GARDINER WOMEN if you ever see a copy in the wild or online. Until Davidyne Mayleas ends up going digital that is the only way you can read her stuff.

 

 

Until next post—Martin