Select editions. 3, 2018 / Large type.
(Book - Large Print)

Two abridged novels in large type.

"The condensations in this volume have been created by Trusted Media Brands, Inc." -- T.p. verso.

The dollhouse: When she arrives at the famed Barbizon Hotel in 1952, secretarial school enrollment in hand, Darby McLaughlin is everything her modeling agency hall mates aren't: plain, self-conscious, homesick, and utterly convinced she doesn't belong--a notion the models do nothing to disabuse. Yet when Darby befriends Esme, a Barbizon maid, she's introduced to an entirely new side of New York City: seedy downtown jazz clubs where the music is as addictive as the heroin that's used there, the startling sounds of bebop, and even the possibility of romance. Over half a century later, the Barbizon's gone condo and most of its long-ago guests are forgotten. But rumors of Darby's involvement in a deadly skirmish with a hotel maid back in 1952 haunt the halls of the building as surely as the melancholy music that floats from the elderly woman's rent-controlled apartment. It's a combination too intoxicating for journalist Rose Lewin, Darby's upstairs neighbor, to resist--not to mention the perfect distraction from her own imploding personal life. Yet as Rose's obsession deepens, the ethics of her investigation become increasingly murky, and neither woman will remain unchanged when the shocking truth is finally revealed.

One true loves: Emma and Jesse, high school sweethearts, marry and build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents in Massachusetts. They travel the world, live life to the fullest, and seize every opportunity for adventure. On their first anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter when it goes missing over the Pacific ocean. Just like that, he is gone forever. Emma quits her job and moves back to Massachusetts in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, Emma meets Sam, an old friend, and finds herself falling in love again. They get engaged, and Emma feels like she has a second chance at happiness. Then, Jesse is found, alive. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma must decide who she is and what she wants. She knows she must listen to her heart, although she's not sure what it is saying.