Customer Reviews

Mastering the Dance: Ambition and Intrigue Among the Rich and Influential

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The books characters were very real. We all know the people in one form or another in business. I had a difficult time puting the book down when I started reading, the feeling of having been in the lives of the people before came at the start of the book and was there when I finished. The mystery of the final solution for the bad guys was held in bay until the end. A little spicy and bits of humor was a good touch.

Hanson takes us into the heart of Texas. . . and deep into the heart of one of the most memorable characters of our time, Preston Smith-along with his mentors, friends, and enemies. In a tale of bittersweet tenderness and the unexpected turns that life can take, Tamara Hanson, in Mastering the Dance (Skyward Publishing, new release title), is at her very best: warm, compassionate, the author captures the feelings and needs and desires of her characters in a way that possess a reality unique in American fiction.

Preston Smith, a bright and handsome young accountant, who takes a job with Hank Cantrell, a real estate magnate and longtime client, soon finds himself trapped in a downward spiral of tax evasion, embezzlement, and cover ups. As Preston's future hangs in the balance and he faces prison, he is aided by Amanda Hale Young, the attorney who loves him. Preston realizes his irresistible desires for wealth and the love of Kate Cantrell have led him to the edge. To clear his name, he must risk losing everything he's worked for.

Hanson's quick, eager sympathy for her characters, her ability to slip easily in and out of their minds and hearts, and her effortless narrative style all combine to create a story that is as emotionally involving as it is entertaining. . .absolutely satisfying.

This is a superb book by Tamara Hanson, a new author who has already "mastered the dance" of telling an intricate story. Set in an affluent area of Dallas, Texas, the story seamlessly weaves the corrupting influence of power and greed among the elite and "would be" elite, with intricate family and personal relationships. A real estate deal going bad is at the heart of the events which challenge the ethics and sensibilities of the power brokers, accountants and lawyers directly involved, but ultimately affect the families and lovers of the deal makers. The fallout has suprising, yet believable outcomes.
Ms. Hanson has done a marvelous job of vividly depicting her characters and their emotional and intellectual strengths and weaknesses. I found myself comparing her characters with real life equivalents and how closely the events described in the novel come to the real life situations and challenges we face in our own lives.
This is a must read first book. I anxiously await future works by Ms. Hanson.

Wow! What a fantastic story. Characters are clever, intriguing, but somehow familiar. Story keeps you guessing and wanting more. I found it very hard to put down and lost sleep just to finish that last chapter. I can't wait until the next book. Move over John Grissom & Mary Stewart... Tamara Hanson is here and she ROCKS!

Preston Campbell is an ambitious, upright guy. His flaw? Waffling when confronted with conflicts between integrity and love. Hanson obviously knows her stuff: Dallas haunts and hot spots, accounting, taxes (and loop holes), insurance and cigar-smoking, diamond-flashing high-rollers. Her characters are familiar around these parts, yet they never collapse into stereotypes. The good guys' flaws are embarrassingly easy to identify with. The bad guys can be crafty and charming. Minor characters have their own stories that explain their unexpected behaviors. I am so inured to unrealistic endings that this one really surprised me. TV dramas keep you hanging until next week, movies either have a Speilberg "isn't it all nice?" conclusion, or a Tarantino debacle which leaves no one unscathed. At this writing, who knows how the real-life corporate trials will conclude (Enron, World Com and others), but in Hanson's world regardless of power, status, wealth, or influence, the scammers get scammed, the forgivers get forgiven, and family ties matter.
Women who like Nora Roberts, Charlotte Vale Allen and Elizabeth Adler will probably enjoy this. Men who enjoy Sidney Sheldon, and fiction about wheeler-dealers may find entertainment (and instruction) in these pages.