The Other Woman: A Novel of Suspense [Mass Market Paperback]

Diana Diamond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Pam Leighton is a smart, ambitious, and sexy aide to a handsome Washington lobbyist named John Duke. For the last two years, she's also been his lover. It's an open secret that his glamorous and social-climbing wife, Catherine, tolerates--to a point.

After the President nominates Duke for a cabinet post, Catherine sees her opportunity and delivers an ultimatum: either fire Pam or get ready for a very public, very ugly divorce. Duke's sharply honed political instincts tell him exactly what he needs to do. In one abrupt, brutal meeting, Duke ends the relationship and fires her from the job she loves. But Pam is not about to go quietly: A powerful New York publisher is offering her big money for what could be the ultimate Washington tell-all. But when people around her begin dying, Pam realizes that finishing the book may be a matter of life and death--her own.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beltway politics and romantic revenge don't quite gel in this paint-by-numbers potboiler by bestseller Diamond, the nom de plume of William P. Kennedy. Pam Leighton is a sexy young researcher at a Washington, D.C. electric utility lobbying group. Her older married lover and boss, John Duke, dumps her at the command of his wife, Catherine, whose political ties are necessary for his ascension to Secretary of Energy with the new administration. Scorned, Pam turns whistleblower: she moves to New York City and with the help of her overly affectionate book editor friend, Glenn Hubbard, she gets to work on a tell-all book about government corruption and the lobbying business. When somehow word gets out about Pam's manuscript-which would lay bare John and his government cronies-she finds herself in terrible danger. Diamond (The Stepmother) delivers lurid details of political chicanery and lively descriptions of the besotted men in Leighton's life, but a cardboard portrayal of the heroine, whose backstory never materializes clearly enough to justify her motivations, weakens the novel's core.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Diamond delivers lurid details of political chicanery and lively descriptions."
--Publishers Weekly
 
 "A terrifying tale…and a gutsy heroine worth rooting for."
--Romantic Times BOOKreviews (4 stars)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312949340
• ISBN-13: 978-0312949341
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,095,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak characterization of heroine, July 22, 2008

By 

Sharon (Houston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Other Woman: A Novel of Suspense (Mass Market Paperback)

Competent writing and decent insight into Inside-the-Beltway-as-usual politics, but I was angry throughout the book that the heroine could be so dumb as to trust the person that she trusted. I did not realize Diamond is a pseudonym for a man, and an older one at that, which may explain giving a heroine brains in her credentials and not have her use them in reality, and it ruins what could otherwise have been a good read. Any woman writer would have known better. I agree with the review that said the heroine is a cardboard figure.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Feelings, September 2, 2006

By 

ESQ - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Other Woman: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

I have mixed feelings about this book. As I read more and more of Diana Diamond's books I begin to see a pattern. I also realize that each and every time I read them, I can figure out who the "culprit" is well before the book ends. That's not something that ranks high on my list at all. I prefer to ke totally surprised at the end. With that being said, I did enjoy this book. It has all the wonderful action, suspense, greed, and ambition one could hope to get in a thriller about the inner workings of the government.

At times the action was a bit overdone. And as with all her other books that I have read thus far, very few of the characters are likeable. In fact, the heroine of the story is one of my least favorite characters as she comes across as weak, scorned, and often self-righteous. I mean how can you really be angry with a married man who dumps you for his WIFE??

At any rate, I'm sure that if you want a nice, light, suspenseful read, you will enjoy this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fascinating relationship thriller, June 17, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Other Woman: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

Pam Leighton works for the Electric Energy Institute lobbying group that works to make sure no legislation inimical to the power companies is passed. The head of the corporation is John Duke who is Pam's lover and has been for two years. When John is being considered for a cabinet post as the Secretary of Energy his wife says she will support him using her political connections if he severs all ties to Pam and makes sure she leaves Washington D.C.

Pam moves to New York where she plans to write a tell-all book about the lobbying industry. She has the evidence to back up every claim she makes which makes certain Washington power brokers very nervous. They want the publication of the book stopped and they use all sorts of methods to intimidate Pam into giving up getting her book published. When a good woman dies because she helped Pam, the writer becomes even more determined to write her book even if she has to go to outrageous lengths to keep from getting killed.

THE OTHER WOMAN is a fascinating relationship thriller that has readers guessing who is spying on Pam and reporting back to the power brokers. The audience feels pity for John Duke, who broke many laws as chairman of the EEI not because he an evil man but because he is a weak person who allows his ambition and wife to make choices that destroy his happiness. Diana Diamond has written a novel that shows the ugly and illegal relationships between lobbyists and elected officials that come straight out of news headlines.

Harriet Klausner