To Die For [Paperback]

Melanie George (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

Abby St James knows all about trouble, thanks to her twin sister Michaela, whose unofficial nickname in New York society is the Black Widow. Michaela's tastes have always run to older, wealthy types - all of whom have conveniently died, leaving Michaela a very satisfied widow. Abby is not quite so sophisticated, or so confident about men, but stepping in to oversee her sister's interest in men's magazine Bastion seems harmless enough. Until Stefan Massari, Bastion's publisher, mistakes Abby for Michaela herself - and Abby wonders if getting the job done might be easier with her sister's clout. But maybe she takes the imitation of Michaela too far. Because someone who wants to hurt Michaela has begun to call - and with each chilling threat, Abby wonders if she'll be the one to take her sister's punishment...when the caller takes her life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The newest contemporary romantic suspense from George (The Mating Game) has everything her fans have come to expect: searing sex scenes, lively prose and a virginal heroine. This time, however, the author laces her tale with dark characters, gutsy language and an overdose of melodrama. The action starts when naive Abby St. James steps into the shoes of her wild and worldly twin sister, Michaela, in an effort to run Bastion, their deceased father's glossy men's magazine. Since Michaela had been running Bastion for the past several months, Abby didn't expect to inherit it and hasn't a clue how to run it, but she figures that posing as Michaela while her twin vacations in France will buy her time to learn the ropes. Pretending to be Michaela has a definite downside. The magazine's darkly handsome publisher, Stefan Massari, hates her; the staff treats her with blatant disrespect; and someone in the building across from her is threatening her with horrific sex acts. True to the romance genre, Stefan is drawn to Abby, whom he believes is Michaela, for reasons he (and the reader) can't fathom. An uneasy history of sexual abuse in both Stefan and Abby's past, plus Abby's life-threatening illness, take the story over the edge for a groaningly melodramatic finish.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A slick and profitable magazine is left by its owner to one of his adult twin daughters. Micky has led a wild and promiscuous life, while Abby has been living with her mother in a small rural town. The gorgeous editor, Stefan, falls for Abby, then is bewildered because he thinks she's Micky. Stefan's sister committed suicide after she was raped, so he is well equipped to cope with Abby's fear of men after a near-rape, although their love is sorely tested by her deception about her identity, the illness she believes is fatal, and the violent revenge of one of Micky's spurned lovers. These events do, however, bring the sisters back together and make Abby realize that she can have a life with Stefan. The plot is a bit jerky and implausible, but George has a knack for making readers root for her protagonists, and the sex scenes are wonderfully detailed. George is off to a good start in her bid to specialize in dark, gritty romances. Mary K. Chelton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821771213
• ISBN-13: 978-0821771211
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,006,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary Perfection in an Italian Hero, December 19, 2002

By 

"readinganddreaming" (Green Country, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Die For (Paperback)

Melanie George delivers a riveting and enticing novel with "To Die For." Rarely have I read such a heart stopping depiction of a contemporary romance hero. Although this story occurs in a corporate setting of a successful magazine publisher, the main characters definitely carry the majority of the story. Often, it seems, in a romance novelist's efforts to set the environment of the novel, the reader is deluged with facts and figures and sometimes dragged down in too many details. Most readers, I would presume, read a romance novel for the romance and we want it to be in a believable, accurate setting. But we are not reading the book, as in this case, to learn more about publishing. We are reading about the lives of the people who manage the publishing. This author has created an interesting publishing arena for her story that frames a remarkable romance.

Abby St. James has just inherited her father's business, Bastion, a highly successful gentleman's magazine. Abby has never been involved in her father's business and lives in Idaho. Abby has not lived with her father since her parents' divorce when she was a child. She has lived with her mother, caring for her until her recent death. Abby's twin, Michaela, has both lived with her father since the divorce and has worked for his magazine.

Michaela has a bad reputation with men. She has cruelly used men and actually married several older men, all who have died. Her reputation also reaches to the magazine publishing business where she is known to be vindictive, autocratic, and impulsive to a fault. Through her actions at work, she has alientated the publisher, Stefan Massari, and he hates working with her and distrusts her is all matters. When Abby inherits all of the magazine company, Michaela goes to Europe for an extended vacation and Abby begins working at Bastion. Upon her arrival at work her first day, she is blasted by the magazine's publisher, Stefan, for Michaela's actions prior to her trip to Europe. Abby has no intention of deceiving any one about her identity, but just as Stefan has mistaken Abby for her twin, others within the company do so as well. Almost immediately, Abby decided to keep her true identity a secret to give her time to assess the possible damage her twin has done within the company. Needless to say, no one likes Michaela and Abby contends with her enemies within the company as well as in her personal life.

Stefan is appalled to find he is consistently drawn to Michaela when he has never before. He cannot figure out what she is up to because she is no longer the hostile, demanding, and selfish woman he remembers. Abby is a gentle spirit and as opposite her twin as possible. She is inexperienced with men and basically a very shy person. This is the person that Stefan is drawn to and Abby is definitely fighting a strong attraction to Stefan.

This book is not a light read. It covers a lot of heavy issues such as rape, suicide, illness, sexual perversion, and murder. It is not your typical romance novel. I usually read several novels concurrently. It helps me savor each story if I do not allow myself to rush through a book to see how it ends. This, however, is one book I could not read while reading other books at the same time. It demanded all of my attention. I did not want to quit reading it and did read it non-stop with only one or two breaks.

The hero, Stefan, is certainly dreamy. He is not so much the forceful dominant male we see so often in romances but yet he does dominate any scene he is in because of his immense self-confidence. He is also not your typical rake - he is choosy about who he dates and does not play around just for the sex. He has a very mature personality and carries the role of publisher of this very classy magazine easily. He seeks to understand the motives of a person's behavior and is a well-liked and accepted manager.

Abby is a saint compared to her twin, Michaela. She works hard, treats her co-workers with respect, and offers smart, sensible suggestions. She is thoughtful and conservative and is the type of woman Stefan has always wanted. He has the desire and need to have as his future wife a person he can take care of. Michaela could never fit that role but this new Michaela he sees - does. Yes, he is one confused man.

The romance between Abby and Stefan is bittersweet until Stefan discovers her true identity. The two don't communicate through fighting and misunderstanding. The growth in their relationship is truly touching. The chemistry between the two is rich and tangible. On a scale of one to five, the sensual scenes are a solid four (see "more about me" for sensual rating guidelines) and occur several times.

Any time in the book that Abby and Stefan are on the same page, you have got some great interaction going - even if it is a disagreement. You truly feel their emotions when in each other's company. The story is moving and heart wrenching. Stefan is one of my favorite contemporary heroes. I will definitely keep this book to read again at another time. I could read it again right now. This is the first book I have read by this author and am now looking forward to reading her other novels. Although this book has been referred to as melodramatic, it is still a wonderful story!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read! Great Characters!, January 2, 2003

By 

Kristi Ahlers (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Die For (Paperback)

This was a dark, fast paced read that I found to be very entertaining but was let down by the lack of suspense. I felt that although the chemistry between the two main characters was great there was a decided lack of suspense to be found.

This was a first time read for me by this author and so I am not sure of her ability to pen a great suspense. Although there was plenty potential for the suspense to be more intense I feel that the author concentrated more on the relationship between the characters instead.

Still in all a good way to pass a rainy afternoon.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Give this a miss..head for her other books, September 14, 2003

By 

Shamim Adam (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Die For (Paperback)

This book - to put it politely - is not very good, which is quite a shame since all of the other books by the author are quite fabulous, especially the Devil series. It's as though the author decides one day to write a book on some dark issues, and went about writing it without wondering how she would go about it. Add divorce, rape, murder, drugs and sadism and stir it all together and voila - To Die For. She added a pair of twins, got them to switch identities without explaining really why they had to do that, made the twin who lived in the city incredibly bitchy and the other who lived in the country incredibly sweet, added a guy who hated one twin and fell for the other, and add a stalker who hated both. **SPOILER** And to end it off, have someone almost die of a deadly illness and get a self-centered person save the dying character. A tearjerker? Not at all. If you want to read a romantic suspense thriller, also with many dark issues, there's always J.D. Robb and Julie Garwood is pretty good in her foray into romantic suspense. Give To Die For a wide berth, but read Melanie George's other books.