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Playing the Game [Hardcover]

Barbara Taylor Bradford (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)

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Book Description

October 12, 2010
Annette Remmington, a London art consultant and private dealer, is at the top of her game. She is considered a rising star in the international world of art, and has a roster of wealthy clients who trust her judgment and her business acumen. Her success reaches new heights when a rare and long lost Rembrandt finds its way into her hands, which she restores and sells for top dollar. Called the auction of the year, Annette becomes the most talked about art dealer in the world.

Annette is married to her mentor and personal champion, the much older Marius Remmington. For twenty years, Marius has groomed her into the international art star that she has become, not to mention saving her from a dark and gritty past. She is his pride and joy, and as her best advisor, it’s with great care that he hand picks only the best journalist possible to do a profile on his beloved wife in a popular London Sunday newspaper. Jack Chalmers is a bit of a celebrity himself, becoming one of the top journalists of his time. Marius believes only he will be able to capture the true brilliance of his lovely wife. But Marius never intends to put his marriage in jeopardy. How could he have known that the connection between Jack and Annette would ignite so many secrets? And how could he know that Jack would uncover a scandal that could ultimately destroy them all?

Barbara Taylor Bradford does it again in this epic novel of seduction, passion and international intrigue. Playing the game has never been so thrilling.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her 26th book Bradford (Breaking the Rules) embraces all the tropes of the rags-to-riches story. Although London art consultant and dealer Annette Remmington has been thoroughly educated about art by her controlling, much older husband, Marius, it's the sale of a long-lost Rembrandt for the staggeringly high sum of million pounds that ultimately brings her fame. When other paintings in the seller's collection are found to be fakes, however, and Annette's newly minted rep is seriously threatened, she enlists gallery owner Malcolm Stevens, a protégé of her husband, for advice. When Marius persuades a reluctant Annette to be interviewed by a rising young journalist in order to create interest in her next auction, the decision reveals a tortured childhood for Annette and a serious criminal past for Marius. A contrived denouement, trite prose, heavy-handed foreshadowing, and too many subplot tentacles will deter all but the most loyal Bradford fan. (Oct.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Bradford’s latest is set in the London art scene, where 39-year-old Annette Remmington has just made her first huge sale: a Rembrandt painting discovered by a young man who inherited an estate from his eccentric uncle. Suddenly Annette is the darling of the art world, and her husband, Marius, is determined to make sure she manages her success properly. Two decades older than Annette and very controlling, he hand-selects one journalist out of the many who want to interview Annette for a profile.The journalist Marius picks is Jack Chalmers, a dashing up-and-comer who is 10 years younger than Annette. Despite the age difference, sparks fly the minute they meet, and it isn’t long before Annette and Jack give in to their powerful mutual attraction. But Annette is tied to Marius not just by marriage but also by a secret that she fears could destroy her if it ever came to light. There is plenty of intrigue, secrets, and steamy encounters in Taylor’s scintillating novel. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Awarded the OBE by the Queen, Taylor writes international bestsellers of substance and glamor. --Kristine Huntley

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (October 12, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312578083
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312578084
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD

Barbara Taylor Bradford, OBE is one of the world's best loved storytellers. Her 1979 debut novel, A Woman of Substance, ranks as one of the top-ten bestselling books of all-time, with more than 30 million copies in print. All 25 of her novels to date have been major worldwide bestsellers. Her 26th book, Playing The Game, will be published on October 12th by St. Martin's Press.

Bradford was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire (UK) as the only child of Freda and Winston Taylor. She grew up in the Leeds suburb of Armley and after Town Street Church of England School worked in the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post before going into journalism. By the age of twenty she was the fashion editor of Woman's Own Magazine and an editor and columnist on Fleet Street for the London Evening News.

Bradford's books have sold more than eighty-two (82) million copies worldwide in more than ninety (90) countries and forty (40) languages. Ten (10) of her books have been made into miniseries and television movies, making her one of the best-selling authors over the last 30 years.

In April of 2003, Mrs. Bradford was inducted into the Writers Hall of Fame of America alongside Mark Twain, Langston Hughes and Dr. Seuss. She was awarded an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's 2007 Birthday Honours list for her contributions to literature. Her original manuscripts are archived at the Brotherton Library at Leeds University, alongside the works of the Bronte sisters. In 2009, Barbara's publishers began a worldwide 30th anniversary celebration of A Woman of Substance. The first annual Woman of Substance Awards took place on September 10th 2009 at the Dorchester Hotel in London. She lives in New York City with her husband, of 43 years, television producer Robert Bradford.

Her official website is: www.barbarataylorbradford.com

 

Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Lazy writing, boring book, February 17, 2011
This review is from: Playing the Game (Hardcover)
"As you know, Annette Remmington, you are the owner of Annette Remmington Gallery, and your husband, Marius Remmington, is a meanie and embodies every stereotype of a villain, so obviously you deserve complete and utter happiness... even at the expense of decent writing and a non-predictable plot." No, not really, but this is a sample of how this author uses dialogue as the primary vehicle for backstory.
It was the first book I had read by this author, so perhaps her others are much different, but I was surprised at the lazy writing in Playing the Game. Not only was the dialogue stuffed with backstory (how many sisters sit around reminding each other of the details of their tragic childhoods?) but it was also clunky and full of "Oh my God!"s and about 3,000 too many exclamation points, even by the supposedly manly protagonist who comes swooping in to save poor Annette from... well, a whole bunch of unbelievable coincidences.
That brings us to plot... which apparently was arrived at by the author asking herself, "How can I make the antagonist more antagonistic, and the protagonist more protagonistic? Oh, I know - I'll make Annette more tragic by giving her a rotten childhood, and I'll make my readers hate Marius more by... let's see... oh, yes, he can cheat on his wife and be a criminal! Yes! How creative!" Throw in a few random characters (uh, whatever happened to the cousin Allison? Is she exiled to France? Are we in the 1500s again? And the brother Anthony? His point was what?) and flashbacks to -- what else -- childhood abuse, basic details about the Impressionists masquerading as in-depth studies, and (wait for it)... obstacles to love-at-first-sight with the disarmingly charming and unable-to-commit-to-a-woman-until-he-meets-Annette Jack!
Again, I have not read other books by this author, but, having noted that she is a bestselling author, my guess is that she is talented and readable, but has fallen into the trap of quick production. The concept itself is fine -- an arts mystery darkened by murder and deepened by a love affair -- but the characters are too stock, the dialogue too unbelievable, and the plot too full of lazy coincidences to make this anything but a book that deserves to be skipped.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars STORY OF ANNETTE AND MARIUS REMMINGTON, October 25, 2010
This review is from: Playing the Game (Hardcover)
Pretty good book. It starts out great guns and then drags for about 200 pages and hurries through the ending. The setting for this novel is London and environs. Annette is married to a very wealthy art critic who is basically holding her hostage due to early life happenings. She is an art consultant who has just sold a long lost Rembrandt at auction for a client - thus she is now a star herself. Her client has quite a few famous artist paintings in the home he inherits. Annette has a sister Laurie with whom she is very close. Along comes Jack Chalmers a worldwide journalist chosen to do a profile on Annette - sparks fly. Fun book, could have been much shorter.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Don't love it, don't hate it either., December 3, 2010
This review is from: Playing the Game (Hardcover)
Annette Remmington is an art consultant and an art dealer. She can tell the difference between a fake and a true piece of art. She can also help auction valuable paintings and sculptures. Annette's career is taking off, but she has a secret to hide and a domineering husband who is helping her hide it.

Marius, the husband, didn't seem as evil and manipulative as he was supposed to be until the very end. At the end, Annette becomes a detective?

I was a bit disappointed when I found out what Annette's horrible, dark secret was. It could have been much, much worse.

I wanted the romantic interest to appear earlier in the book.

The ending was just too easy. Everything just kind of resolved itself.

I don't feel a lot for this book. Neutral. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. There wasn't a lot of content and it was an easy read.
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