The Book of Jane Book

Jane Williams is the happiest woman in New York. She has a dream job, a perfect Manhattan apartment, and a man she wants to marry. Her whole life is mapped out to the finest detail, and things just can't get any better. But in a New York minute, everything changes. After an evening on the town with a hot Hollywood actor her PR firm is wooing, she wakes up to a day filled with strange occurrences—a weird mark on her face and a red-haired woman who seems to be following her every move. This bizarre day turns increasingly horrible, and over the course of it, Jane loses her boyfriend, her best friend, her job, her home, maybe even her dog. Unsure of why she's being tested, Jane struggles to hold herself together while her world falls apart. Has God forgotten her?

In this witty and contemporary retelling of the story of Job, Jane discovers what she really wants, after nearly everything she holds dear slips away. Filled with the sophistication and excitement of city life, but sprinkled with humor and strong values, this new novel from the Dayton/Vanderbilt team charms, inspires, and warms the heart.

Publishers Weekly

A lighthearted chick lit version of the Book of Job? Improbably, it works, primarily because of the marvelous humor and urbane sensibility that mark this third novel from the authors of Consider Lilyand Emily Ever After. On a dime, New York publicist Jane Williams loses everything she holds dear-her boyfriend, her cool West Village apartment, her enviable job. To top it off, her dog gets sick, she's released as Brownie troop leader to the daughters of Manhattan's glitterati, and she's got a bizarre facial rash, making Jane lament that her life is now "worse than a country music song." Slowly, Jane comes to see God's love and providence in new ways-"though he hides it well, God must still be in charge," she muses-and is surprised to find herself developing romantic feelings for a Darcy-esque nemesis. Sex and the Citywithout the sex, Dayton and Vanderbilt's novel is a laugh-out-loud love song to New York City. (June 12)