1 Last Dance [Paperback]

Eileen Goudge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1999

A sexy, steamy story of love and betrayal from the bestselling author of Thorns of Truth and Garden of Lies. In One Last Dance, three very different sisters must cope with loss, rekindled romance, and troubled marriages, and each in her own way experiences the transporting highs and devastating lows of sexual desire.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Miramonte, California--present day.

Sensuality Rating: 6

Following the success of her previous novels (Garden of Lies and Thorns of Truth), bestselling author Eileen Goudge's One Last Dance introduces readers to four women, Lydia Seagrave and her three daughters. Daphne, a successful novelist, is married to a doctor and mother of two children; Kitty, proprietor of a bakery in their hometown of Miramonte, California, hungers to have a baby; and Alex, the youngest, a divorced realtor, struggles to make ends meet while raising twins. On the eve of her 40th wedding anniversary, Lydia, who loves her husband enormously, picks up a gun and kills him. Straining to make sense of the tragedy, the sisters must face the lies hidden behind their image as an idyllic family. In the process, they must confront deceptions at the heart of each of their lives. Eileen Goudge paints a portrait of four women striving to build real and honest lives by challenging a sometimes-painful reality. --Alison Trinkle --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Three sisters about to celebrate their parents' 40th wedding anniversary find themselves at their father's funeral and mother's murder trial in Goudge's (Garden of Lies; Thorns of Truth) latest tale of family secrets, scandals and passion. The Seagrave sisters are emotionally unfulfilled despite their accomplishments: Daphne, a novelist married to a doctor, cannot forget her childhood sweetheart, while homespun cafe entrepreneur Kitty yearns to adopt a child, and newly divorced real estate agent Alex is drowning in mounting debt. When their mother shoots their father without explanation or apology, the daughters investigate the rumors and suspicions they have ignored all their lives to confront the truth about their philandering parent. In the small town where they grew up, the Seagraves were a picture-perfect family and their father a respected pillar of the community. Frustrated by the lies of old friends and their mother's stubborn silence, the sisters gain support from Daphne's ex-boyfriend (now the prosecuting DA), Alex's patient ex-husband and Kitty's energetic young lover. In Goudge's emotional landscape, the truth sets one freeAfrom guilt, inhibition and doubt. Her mixture of soap opera and modern romance occasionally overdoses on inner torment, and no revelation comes as a surprise, but she consistently explores intense family relationships and turns out bestsellers that feature women on the verge of major change. Even when the heart-wrenching prose becomes fulsome, the reader keeps turning pages just to make sure the heroines find the happiness they deserve. Agent, Susan Ginsburg. Doubleday Book Club main selection and Literary Guild Super Release; author tour. (June) FYI: Signet will release Thorns of Truth simultaneously in paper.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 2 pages
• Publisher: Penguin USA (P) (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140869417
• ISBN-13: 978-0140869415
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I was born on the Fourth of July, and it's been fireworks ever since. I began writing at age eight, with short stories and poems, and I haven't looked back since. From the early days of mostly collecting rejection slips, I went on to publish thirty-two novels for young adults, thirteen (and still counting) of women's fiction, as well as numerous short stories and magazine articles, and one cookbook.

Often I'm asked where I get my ideas. Fortunately, I have a wealth of life experiences to draw from. Starting when I dropped out of college to get married, at age eighteen. Two years later I was divorced, with a baby son and no means of support. I ended up briefly on welfare, and stood in line for government surplus food. But every cloud has its silver lining, and this one led to my determination to make it as a professional writer. I borrowed a typewriter, and lacking a desk, plunked it down on the living room floor. The rest, as they say, is history.

Following a string of young adult novels, I published my first adult novel, GARDEN OF LIES, in 1986. The saga of baby girls switched at birth---one rich, the other poor---went on to enjoy a combined total of 16 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, in hardcover and paperback. Though there's no such thing as an overnight success, I felt like one, having gone in a matter of months from not knowing how I was going to pay the rent to wondering what I was going to do with all that money. The first thing I did was fulfill a fantasy born of years of wearing hand-me-downs: I walked into Saks Fifth Avenue and bought a dress...without even looking at the price tag!

I've since gone on to write many more novels. My most recent, which came out in June of '07, is WOMAN IN RED, a very special story about a woman just out of prison and a man struggling to get back on his feet after losing his wife on 9/11. Look for it in trade paperback in May of this year. I also have another hardcover coming out,in June, titled DOMESTIC AFFAIRS ---a Cinderalla story in reverse: Riches to rags but with a happy ending. I'll be posting sample chapters on my website at www.eileengoudge.com, so stay tuned. I would love to hear your comments once you've read the book! And, remember, there's always more where that came from...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sure Winner, August 25, 2000

By 

rcarey22 (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Last Dance (Paperback)

I just finished the paperback edition of One Last Dance and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. This was truly a remarkable book. I couldn't put it down but at the same time I didn't want to finish it. I loved the three sisters and how they rose to meet the challenges of life and death. I must admit Daphne and Kitty were my favorites. It will always amaze me at the things we are willing to do for love.

I've been a fan of yours since Garden of Lies but I must admit until One Last Dance, my favorite has been Thorns of Truth. I am awaiting the release of the paperback edition of The Second Silence.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SIMPLY DELICIOUS!!! BEST BEACH BOOK OF THE SUMMER!, June 28, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (marvelous marin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Last Dance (Hardcover)

do you love good old fashioned family sagas with fascinating female characters and a touch of mystery??? if so, then this is the summer book for you!!! the book starts with an amazingly beautiful cover and an intriguing story unfolds inside.... characters are marvelous and completely developed... you feel as though you've known them forever! this is one book that you think that you've got it figured out but then it hits with a total shocker!!! if you've never read eileen's books before, this one will send you running back to the bookstore for more.......try 'such devoted sisters' and the incredible saga 'garden of lies' and its sequel, 'thorns of truth'.....you'll be soooooo glad you did!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Goudge pleaser, August 3, 1999

By 

Terry Bennett - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Last Dance (Hardcover)

Eileen Goudge comes through again! One Last Dance gives the reader the opportunity to explore 4 women's lives as the result of a tragic situation - wife murders husband!! I'm giving away no secret. The murder occurs at the outset and sets the other events into motion. The daughters of Lydia have to come to grips with her incomprehensible act while trying to keep their own lives from falling apart. Each daughter, Amanda,a novelist, Kitty, the owner of a tea room, and Alex, a realtor, has problems unknown to the others that need resolution. They also have secrets which are the key to understanding their mother's action. While traveling the road to answers, each in their own way, and examining some family friendships, the crux of the problem becomes apparent. As the sisters work through their grief and problems, they grow closer together and become less of a dysfunctional family and more loving and tolerant of the others' behavior and lifestyle. It was fun being part of the Seagraves' family for a few days of beach reading. My only disappointment and the reason for 4 stars was that I had the plot figured out long before the last chapters!