Wealth, power, beauty, love, incest, hate, treachery beyond belief, corporate and sexual intrigue amid glitzy European locales and the mystery of high society, THE MASTER STROKE has it all. Characters are well drawn and complex, holding one’s interest throughout. Essentially an engaging soap opera filled with too many foolishly steamy sexual passages.
The main story is strong and interesting and it’s easy to care for the characters of Francie, Sam and in the beginning Jack (later he earns our hatred as much as we despise his father). We pity Julie and her mother Victoria for their inability to stand up for themselves. One roots for Francie all the way and delights in her brilliant snaring of Anton and Jack. The story takes place 1955 to 1961 and assuming the author’s research with regard to computer breakthroughs at this time is correct, plausibility is satisfied.
It’s good trashy summer reading fun. For TV, a two-parter a la Danielle Steele.