SST
Keyes is in sparking form in her latest work. While this isn't laugh-out-loud material like her earlier books, it's more upbeat than her previous novel. Rachel's Holiday, which centered on experiences at an alcohol addiction clinic.
Keyes accurately captures the atmosphere of the glossy magazine world - from the "freebies" accepted (and expected) through to the tactics to gain publicity.
Tough, competitive, Prada-wearing editor Lisa Edwards is the embodiment of naked ambition - used to getting her own way and to treating her employees with disdain.
Happily London-based, with an eye on promotion to New York, she finds herself deported to Dublin to launch Colleen magazine. She's determined to turn even this backwards step into a success, but her view of Ireland is less than flattering:
"No one turned up on time for anything in this lousy country and one person even had the cheek to say, 'The man who made time made plenty of it."In contrast to Edward is her inexperienced deputy Ashling Kennedy who works hard and has a genuine concern for others. Her growth is the focal point of the novel.