The heroine of Bradford's newest sprawling novel is a beautiful young woman who goes only by the letter M and has a charming penchant for quoting lines from great literary works. She is trying to put a terrible attack that happened when she was a teen behind her, and at age 23, she leaves England for New York in the hope of becoming a supermodel. When her resemblance to Audrey Hepburn draws the attention of an acclaimed photographer, her star appears to be on the rise. When she meets dashing English movie star Laurence Vaughan, it's love at first sight. After a whirlwind courtship, Larry proposes and M happily accepts. Though M battles a few setbacks along the way Larry has an addiction to prescription drugs, and the photographer is killed in a car crash it's not long before M is living her dream as a world-famous supermodel. But M's success comes hand in hand with danger, because the person who wanted her dead years ago still has it in for her. Devoted Bradford readers will be pleased to find a connection with her long-running Harte family saga, and all will be happy to dwell in the glamorous world of Bradford's sophisticated characters.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2009 Booklist

For the 30th anniversary of her first novel, A Woman of Substance, Bradford delivers her 25th book. The riches-to-more-riches tale features beloved matriarch Emma Harte's plucky great-granddaughter, M, who, at 23, moves to New York to start a modeling career, banking on her intelligence and business savvy, her Audrey Hepburn looks and her well-connected friends to help her. A violent attack had compelled M to leave behind a life of privilege in London, and from her new home in a shared Chelsea brownstone, M begins her ascent, eventually landing on the catwalks of Paris and falling in love with a famous British actor, though her successes soon attract the attention of family enemies. The plot, while contrived, satisfies on the fashion-and-passion front, and, as always, at the heart of the action stands a determined heroine scrambling up the ladder of success supported by minor characters, each with a complicated backstory. Fans will not mind if the connections holding them together seem tenuous. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved