Deep In The Heart [Hardcover]

Barbara Bickmore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

Stifled by the small town of Verity, Texas, Carly Anderson builds a career as a powerful Houston real-estate broker, finding herself drawn to three very different men along the way--high-school sweetheart Boomer Bannerman, wealthy Cole Coleridge, and blacksheep journalist Ben Coleridge.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A new dramatic saga featuring passion, secrets, betrayals and scandals-Texas style-allows Bickmore (Homecoming) to chart the vicissitudes endured by her ambitious heroine, Carly Anderson, as she moves from small-town poverty to social prominence and well-deserved riches. Carly and her voluptuous widowed mother move to Verity, Tex., when Carly is a teenager, but the community never accepts them, even when Carly dates local golden boy Boomer Bannerman, or when her mom marries the town's wealthy banker. The high school sweethearts drift apart after graduation, and come together again briefly in booming Houston in the 1970s when both are poised for meteoric success-Carly as a high-profile real estate broker and Boomer as a developer who populates the city skyline. After each marries into Houston's elite society, the couples become friends and partners. A decade later, their marriages and fortunes fail as the oil and real estate markets crash, and the Savings and Loans scandals rock the nation. Carly and Boomer return to Verity to start anew, together. Brickmore tells her story energetically, with a spirited evocation of the Texas landscape and a good-humored tolerance for her characters' foibles.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A set-in-Texas romantic extravaganza that runs the gamut from 1960s hicksville to 1980s Houston with nary a dull moment. In backwoods Verity, Texas, single mother (she lost her husband in Vietnam) Francey Anderson is trying her hardest to raise daughter Carly, whom she's uprooted from L.A., where Carly was an honor student about to make the cheerleading team. Carly, however, never feels at home in Verity, with the exception of the way one ``Boomer'' Bannerman, her first love and an all-around great guy, makes her feel, namely like she's the only woman on earth. Carly's not just gorgeous like her actress/waitress mom, she's also smart; after Boomer leaves for college and says his good-byes, she becomes class valedictorian and works for several years in community leader Walt Davis's successful bank. When Verity starts to feel like a trap, Carly heads to Houston to make her fortune as a real-estate agent; it's no surprise that her romantic life picks up in the big city. The wealthy and snobbish Cole Coleridge eventually wins her hand, but it's his black sheep brother Ben who fathers her child when Cole proves impotent. Boomer reappears, of course, now involved (but it's hard to tell how willingly) with Cole's former flame and leading Houston socialite/businesswoman Alex Headland. Back in Verity, Zelda Marie, Carly's only friend from home, provides a counterpoint to Carly's glamorous life, and while Carly's climbing the ranks, Francey and Mr. Davis are becoming more than friends. By the schmaltzy, feel-good end, everyone's got what they deserve and, in a pleasant and unusual twist, the women generally come out on top. Bickmore (Homecoming, 1995, etc.) is in peak form here, avoiding stereotypical leads and keeping the plot moving at a breakneck but satisfying clip: altogether, a romantic yarn with a sense of fun as large as, well, Texas. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 358 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575660393
• ISBN-13: 978-1575660394
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,727,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BARBARA BICKMORE wrote her first short story at seven and has been writing ever since. Her first book EAST OF THE SUN was published in 1988.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars LOVE, AMBITION & CHOICES, July 31, 2001

By 

"neerod" (Sacramento, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deep In The Heart (Paperback)

I have been a fan of Barbara Bickmore historical novels, so I wasn't sure how I would like a contemporary story by her. As I read further into the book, I enjoyed the story more and more. The story begins in 1961. Teenager Carly Anderson is popular and happy in Los Angeles, when her mother decides to move away from that fast-paced life. They stop in a hick town in Texas -- Verity, TX. and there they decide to begin a new life. Carly is beautiful and bright and graduates from high school as class valadictorian. After high school, she works at Verity's only bank and learns the business quickly. Having had her heart broken by her high-school love, Boomer Bannerman, she heads for Houston and the big city life. Once there she enters the real estate profession and becomes successful in a profession dominated primarily by men. This story shows us a woman with ambition and goals. It is also a love story; of Carly's love for 3 very different men and the choices and decisions she must make to find true happiness. I am surprised this book has a 1 star rating. Barbara Bickmore writes a story that will keep you intersted without a lot of foul language or sexually explicit writing. This was a good story that kept me coming back each day to read more. I recommend the book and author, though Barbara Bickmore is hard to find in bookstores!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not up to the standard of Moon Below and Back of Beyond, December 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Deep In The Heart (Paperback)

I felt this book was more in the main Romance field - I was looking for another of her books like East of the Sun - Back of Beyond and the Moon Below. I like her historical research with some romance wound through it, but not as heavy as this book was.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful read!, December 27, 2011

By 

J. Wilson (Covington, GA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Deep In The Heart (Paperback)

I am a huge fan of Bickmore's "East of the Sun" and have been reading her other novels for the past few weeks. I have to say that this one is so different than her period pieces. It is set in Texas for one so its very different than say the jungle from "East" or China in "Distant Star". I enjoyed this book so much. It was intersting to see her take on a story based in the USA. I would highly suggest this book for reading. I wanted the book to go on and on. I cannot say enough about this book. It was a great book and I was sad when it ended!