Adored Book

- British rights for Adored were acquired for a hefty advance in a three-day, six-publisher auction, followed by major sales throughout the world. - Adored will appeal to the same audience that made bestsellers of Plum Sykes's Bergdorf Blondes (Miramax, 4/04), Jackie Collins's Hollywood Divorces (Simon & Schuster, 2003), and Sidney Sheldon's Are You Afraid of the Dark? (William Morrow, 2004). - The fact that a beautiful, accomplished 31-year-old Cambridge University graduate has taken it upon herself to reinvent and revel in such big-canvas story-telling is sure to attract considerable media attention. - Tilly Bagshawe is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, and other major British publications. She lives in Los Angeles and London with her husband and daughter.

Publishers Weekly

With only one previous audiobook under her belt (Bergdorf Blondes, Hyperion Audio), Walger's sensational narration of Bagshawe's deliciously sinful novel proves she's a budding audio star. Walger (who appears on TV's CSI: NY) throws herself into this adaptation with giddy abandon and palpable enthusiasm. Narrating most of the book with her crisp, confident British accent, she effortless slips into American characters, giving each an individual cadence and personality. Bagshawe's decades-spanning Hollywood tale of glamour, greed, lust and revenge will remind listeners of the sweeping, high-caloric sagas by Jacqueline Susann or Lynda LaPlante. Like those two authors, Bagshawe excels at creating characters who are borderline unsympathetic but always compelling. While the big, juicy beach novel has been trimmed a bit, Jessica Kaye's excellent abridgment keeps the various story lines coherent while never slowing the pace below a gallop. Walger's remarkably adroit characterizations never let the multitude of characters become confusing. The only flaw in this production is that the musical cues sometimes play too loudly, threatening to drown out the narration rather than enhancing it. Simultaneous release with the Warner hardcover (Reviews, May 2). (July) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.