The Secret Heiress [Hardcover]

Judith Gould (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2006

Ariadne and Nikoletta are beautiful identical twins-but opposite in every way. Groomed to take over her father's empire, Nikoletta will go to any lengths to get what she wants. Araidne, raised in obscurity and unaware of her vast family fortune, is generous and naïve. But when she agrees to a shady scheme-orchestrated by her late father's board of advisors-to take the place of the twin she has never even met, she becomes embroiled in a web of passion, deception, and untold danger.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The world is a candy store for Niki Papadaki, a wild international party girl one week away from her 21st birthday—the date established in her late father's will when she becomes the "sole proprietress" of Papadaki Private Holdings Ltd., "one of the world's largest privately held corporations." Once at the helm, Niki's lack of business scruples, carelessness with people's lives and environmental recklessness have negative effects on the company's bottom line and make the company a target of Mother Earth's Children, a radical environmental group. PPHL's board decides to replace Niki. Enter Ariadne, Niki's twin sister, who had been secretly raised in America by a childless couple because the girls' father believed twin heiresses were a curse. After an elaborate and covert switch, Ariadne assumes control of both PPHL and Niki's identity and works to turn the company around. Tension mounts as Ariadne-as-Niki becomes the target of an assassination plot; her bodyguard, the dashing Matt Foster, steals her heart while keeping her safe. Bestseller Gould crafts an absorbing narrative in which steamy scenes abound, characters' lives drip with decadence and danger is never far off. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

At 21, Nikki Papadaki is in charge of the corporate empire left to her by her father, and her mercurial management style and outrageous personal life are upsetting the board and top advisor Adrian Single. Adrian was used to her father's bouts with insanity, but Nikki's behavior is crossing the line. Her focus on profits and indifference to the lives of workers and environmental concerns attract the ire of ecoterrorists, and her obsessions with power and sex are riling to all. Unbeknownst to her, Nikki has a twin sister, Adriadne, who has lived in obscurity, raised by foster parents and ignorant of her origins. Adriadne is studying economics in a small elite college when she notices that hunky Matt is following her. Matt leads her to Adrian, and a plan for her to supplant her sister and turn the company around is formulated. Separated at birth, the twin sisters are two sides of a coin: one good, one evil. Prolific and popular Gould gives her readers everything they expect, from lurid sex to dynamic characters and glamorous settings, alluring elements that turn an otherwise ridiculously flawed plot into a thoroughly enjoyable read. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover (October 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 045121966X
• ISBN-13: 978-0451219664
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,040,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 stars., October 26, 2006

By 

AK "Bro" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret Heiress (Hardcover)

Believing that twin heiresses forbode bad luck, Nikos Papadaka sends his youngest, newborn daughter, Ariadne, away, utterly rejecting her. The remaining girl, Niki, grows up to be a spoiled monster, garnering hatred from all who meet her. Combined with her blatant disregard of healthy business practices, Niki has set herself up for a great fall, engineered by one of her own advisors. Adrian was given the cast-off infant to send away to obscurity, and it is at his behast that she is brought back and groomed to replace her sister. Ariadne is everything Niki is not, but can she carry off a deadly masquerade?

*** A classic plot is given a new airing in this fast-paced execution. Though Niki is utterly repulsive, Ariadne's transformation into a better version of her is fascinating. At one point, the switch is compared to Greek drama, and that remark proves to be spot on. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Female Version of Man in the Iron Mask, June 18, 2007

By 

ems "EMS" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Secret Heiress (Paperback)

Man in the Iron Mask is one of my favorite books. That is the only reason for finshing this book. The characters were shallow and plot predictable.
I expected better.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine contemporary romantic thriller, October 4, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret Heiress (Hardcover)

With the death of her father, Nikoletta "Niki" Papadaki takes charge of Papadaki Private Holdings Limited, an international firm with factories all over the world. However, the pampered Niki only cares about the bottom line, which angers environmentalists and other activist groups. One particular extremist faction decides to take matters in their hand by harming perhaps even killing the egomaniac.

Company executives are concerned that their image especially that of hedonistic Niki could cause PPHL troubles resulting in financial losses. They decide they need a more responsible person at the helm. They turn to Ariadne, Niki's twin sister, given up for adoption years ago. Though she knows nothing about her biological family or her late sire's firm, Ariadne brings common sense and an appreciation of social and geo-reasonability of a major company. She also begins to fall in love with her bodyguard Matt.

The dramatically opposite personalities of the twin sisters make for a fine contemporary romantic thriller though finding a former throw away twin is too simple of a solution and the climax is to neat of a wrap up. The story line is fast-paced as the PPHL board changes leadership hoping that a responsible look alike puppet (Ariadne) will save their reputation that spoiled Niki has devastated with her let them eat cake attitude. THE SECRET HEIRESS is an interesting look at how nurturing shapes the personality.

Harriet Klausner