Family Man [Paperback]

Jayne Ann Krentz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1993

Determined to open her own business, spunky Katy Wade must first produce an heir apparent to save her family's mysteriously floundering fortunes, and she sets her sights on Luke Gilchrist.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As personal assistant to octogenarian matriarch Justine Gilchrist, Katy Wade has spent years sorting out Gilchrist family problems; but now she pulls off a minor miracle: she persuades Justine's grandson Luke, a talented restaurant consultant who has no use for his relatives, to rescue the family's restaurant chain from its financial decline. After nosing around, Luke claims that the business is being sabotaged from within. Meanwhile some of the Gilchrists suspect that he'll destroy the company to gain revenge: his father was disinherited by Justine when he left at the altar the bride she had handpicked (the woman who became Katy's mother). In fact, Luke plots only to win Katy, which is not easy, given that the young woman wants out of her job and away from everyone named Gilchrist. In her own saucy, upbeat style, Krentz (Sweet Fortune) turns this eccentric family and pair of mismatched lovers (so everyone tells them) into an entertaining story. Krentz is even confident enough to question the genre rules she plays by so well, as when Katy walks out on Luke during a passionate love scene, saying, There's no call to get surly. You started this. Her fans will eat it up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jayne Ann Krentz's acclaimed New York Times bestsellers include Light in Shadow, Smoke in Mirrors, Lost and Found, Soft Focus, Eye of the Beholder, Flash, and Grand Passion. She writes contemporary romantic suspense novels under her own name, futuristic novels as Jayne Castle (also available from Pocket Books), and historical romance novels under the pseudonym Amanda Quick. She lives in Seattle. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (April 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671728563
• ISBN-13: 978-0671728564
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,053,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The author of over 50 New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense, often with a psychic and paranormal twist, in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 35 million copies of her books in print.

Building on the success of her DREAMLIGHT TRILOGY in 2010, Jayne is now focused on writing the LOOKING GLASS TRILOGY. This series will follow the Quicksilver Mirror (a paranormal artifact) through all three of Jayne's worlds covering a time span of several hundred years.

The first LOOKING GLASS book, IN TOO DEEP, will feature Fallon Jones, a recurring character from Jayne's contemporary ARCANE SOCIETY series of novels.

When she's not writing, Jayne can be found at her favorite social networking site posting messages to her fans.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Keeper"!, March 14, 2003

By 

Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Family Man (Mass Market Paperback)

Katy Wade has a brother finishing high school. To support him, she has been the personal secretary to the Gilchrist family for almost a decade. At last she is ready to start her own business.

First she must lure Luke Gilchrist home to take over the Gilchrist empire. Not an easy task, since Luke holds a life long grudge against them. The Gilchrist empire will fall without him. Luke has the magic touch of how to make money. Once Katy lures Luke home to do his "family duty" she can get on with her own life.

Katy's attempts to bring Luke back succeeds more than anyone would have suspected. But Luke has plans of his own for this stubborn and loyal lady.

This is the BEST Modern Day Romance I have EVER read. A match of wits, love, and family loyalies. A wickedly wonderful tale.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars REPRINT Alert - but WOW what a reprint!! JAK at her best!, February 11, 2003

By 

Deborah MacGillivray "Author," (US & UK) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family Man (Mass Market Paperback)

Jayne Ann stopped surprising us a long time again for two reasons. First, she delivers time and again some of the most enchanting books in romance. I appreciate she has never forgotten her romance roots as some of the others that have moved from romance paperback to mainstream hardback do. Almost like they are ashamed of writing romance and want to write 'legit'. Shame on them! I get sick of writers that build their career off the very readers they turn around and seem to disdain. I think writing romance is one of the hardest things to do - it's not easy to work in a formula and deliver someone fresh and original. Secondly, she stopped surprising us because her book are like that well-worn baggy sweater that you have had for decades and always go to because it's so warm and fuzzy. JAK's books are warm and fuzzy.
We KNOW what we are going to get with small variations, but she weaves her magick spell and we adore it. For the most part, JAK's reprints of late and even a couple of her new ones, have been pains. The reprints are SO Dates they should be ashamed for reprinting and CHARGING NEW BOOK PRICE. They convince some readers the book is new, so everyone dashes out and buys them, only to get home and go OH NO!!!!

Well, this is a reprint, but from JAK at her best! This is from her middle period, where every book she cranked out was pure perfection. So if you have not read this, you will be delighted with it.

Jayne seems best when she is writing about dysfunctional families...so she is in full swing here. The Gilchrist family empire is failing and only one man can save it and when he is called "the bastard" by his own family, you know things are off to a rocky start. The Bastard....hum, Luke Gilchrist has been 'punished' by the Gilchrist family all his life because his father's "scandal". Worse, he never conformed to the Gilchrist way, so they cut him off to - again, to punish him. Instead of accepting their dictates, he is a rebel with a cause - but a smart one - that has done very well in business. Now the family NEEDS the bastard to save the crumbling family empire.

Only, Luke has had a belly full of their arrogant, cruel ways, so he is ready to come in for the kill. Time has come for him to punish them. They have to beg him to save their mysteriously floundering business.

The only trouble - so far Luke just might be mean enough to extract his revenge by watching the whole works go down in flames. And it falls to Katy Wade to bring him around to the right way of thinking. Katy has been to chief-cook, bottle-washer and resident keeper of this oddball family. It's been a good job, though exasperating at time, a job Katy NEEDED, when her parents died and she was left with raising her younger brother. But he is about to graduate high school, and suddenly Katy will be able to move on and do what she wants for a change instead of what she must.

The one stumbling block, she has to convince Luke to return and do his family duty. However, Luke has had years of wanting to get back at the family, so bringing Luke back to the Gilchrist Clan is setting the fox amongst the chickens. Worse, the first demand Luke makes in return for coming back, is Katy has to stay as his personal assistant.

Katy knows when she looks into the cold green eyes, she is making a pack with the devil....And Luke has his own adgenda...one that might thinking claiming Katy could be more important that revenge upon his family.

A wonderfully written romance, that will be vivid in your mind years after you put it down. I absolutely LOVED Luke and Katy!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite JAK book!!!, March 16, 2003

By 

Ellen (ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family Man (Paperback)

I've had this book for the longest time but it's one of the only books that has left a lasting impression on me and I've re-read it many times and it's still good! It's Jayne Ann Krentz at her finest! Luke is sexy and so hot and he looks out for Katy and tries to protect her, which is so damn sweet! If you haven't read this book, go out and get it right now~!