Playing The Game [Mass Market Paperback]

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Playing The Game [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Details

Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; Reprint edition (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312578091
ISBN-13: 978-0312578091
Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

By : Barbara Taylor Bradford
Price : $7.99

Customer Reviews

"As you know, Annette Remmington, you are the owner of Annette Remmington Gallery, and your husband, Marius Remmington, is a meanie and embodies every stereotype of a villain, so obviously you deserve complete and utter happiness... even at the expense of decent writing and a non-predictable plot." No, not really, but this is a sample of how this author uses dialogue as the primary vehicle for backstory.
It was the first book I had read by this author, so perhaps her others are much different, but I was surprised at the lazy writing in Playing the Game. Not only was the dialogue stuffed with backstory (how many sisters sit around reminding each other of the details of their tragic childhoods?) but it was also clunky and full of "Oh my God!"s and about 3,000 too many exclamation points, even by the supposedly manly protagonist who comes swooping in to save poor Annette from... well, a whole bunch of unbelievable coincidences.
That brings us to plot... which apparently was arrived at by the author asking herself, "How can I make the antagonist more antagonistic, and the protagonist more protagonistic? Oh, I know - I'll make Annette more tragic by giving her a rotten childhood, and I'll make my readers hate Marius more by... let's see... oh, yes, he can cheat on his wife and be a criminal! Yes! How creative!" Throw in a few random characters (uh, whatever happened to the cousin Allison? Is she exiled to France? Are we in the 1500s again? And the brother Anthony? His point was what?) and flashbacks to -- what else -- childhood abuse, basic details about the Impressionists masquerading as in-depth studies, and (wait for it)... obstacles to love-at-first-sight with the disarmingly charming and unable-to-commit-to-a-woman-until-he-meets-Annette Jack!
Again, I have not read other books by this author, but, having noted that she is a bestselling author, my guess is that she is talented and readable, but has fallen into the trap of quick production. The concept itself is fine -- an arts mystery darkened by murder and deepened by a love affair -- but the characters are too stock, the dialogue too unbelievable, and the plot too full of lazy coincidences to make this anything but a book that deserves to be skipped.

Annette Remmington is an art consultant and an art dealer. She can tell the difference between a fake and a true piece of art. She can also help auction valuable paintings and sculptures. Annette's career is taking off, but she has a secret to hide and a domineering husband who is helping her hide it.
Marius, the husband, didn't seem as evil and manipulative as he was supposed to be until the very end. At the end, Annette becomes a detective?
I was a bit disappointed when I found out what Annette's horrible, dark secret was. It could have been much, much worse.
I wanted the romantic interest to appear earlier in the book.
The ending was just too easy. Everything just kind of resolved itself.
I don't feel a lot for this book. Neutral. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. There wasn't a lot of content and it was an easy read.