Somebody's Baby [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Charlotte Vale Allen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 2004

A New York Times Bestselling Author

At thirty-one, Snow Devane is a successful photographer living in Manhattan. Her life is all she wants it to be. Then, on her deathbed, Snow's mother confesses to an unthinkable crime: She kidnapped an infant from a supermarket. Snow is somebody's baby, but not hers. In the grip of fearful panic, Snow and her closest friend set out to learn her identity and find her birth parents.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This enticing tale revolves around a kidnapping, which occurred three decades before the action commences; it is resolved when a mother's deathbed confession leads her daughter, Snow, on a search for her natural mother. Snow, snatched in a New York City grocery store by the woman who raised her in a small Rhode Island town, faces a dual mystery--the identity of her natural mother and the real nature and name of the woman who raised her. The first mystery is readily solved via library research and police files. Naturally, her birth mother turns out to be an acclaimed artist, her mirror image, and a loving, fascinating person. Together they dodge reporters, give a single news conference, and shun potential moneymaking options--TV movies, talk shows, etc. After all, Snow is now a millionaire thanks to her late mother's confession. The second mystery is left unsatisfyingly open. Snow's about-face nonchalance, her "I may never know" attitude, does not suit the character Vale has so carefully scripted and is a letdown for the readers. Still, the story is well contrived, peopled with characters the reader could know, and breathtakingly paced. Denise Perry Donavin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A powerful and compelling story."
-- West Coast Review of Books (UNKNOWN )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 558 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (April 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786263946
• ISBN-13: 978-0786263943
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,314,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charlotte Vale-Allen was born in Toronto and lived in England from 1961 to 1964 where she worked as a television actress and singer. She returned to Toronto briefly, performing as a singer until she emigrated to the US in 1966. She sold her first novel Love Life in 1974. Prior to this book's publication she contracted to do a series of paperback originals, with the result that in 1976 three of her books appeared in print. Her autobiography, the acclaimed Daddy's Girl, was actually the first book she wrote but it wasn't until 1980, after she'd gained success as a novelist, that the groundbreaking book was finally published. One of Canada's most successful novelists, with over seven million copies sold of her 39 books, Ms. Allen's work has been published in all English-speaking countries, in Braille, and have been translated into more than 20 languages. The mother of an adult daughter and grandmother of twins, since 1970 she has made her home in Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A letdown at the end., July 7, 2000

By 

"bibliofiend" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Somebody's Baby (Hardcover)

A wonderful storyline which, unfortunately, could also be true. You couldn't help but feel Snow's pain at her mother's deathbed confession, leaving Snow feeling that she has no identity at all. As Snow's search for her biological mother comes to a close, the mystery of the woman who raised her for the past 30 years is just starting to take hold. The author had a wonderful story going here until the end, when you are left hanging. I have never liked books that leave open storylines. Even if it is part of a series, or if there is going to be a sequel, each book should be self-contained and with completed storylines. I feel like I was left reading half a book. I do hope the author has plans to do a sequel and put closure to this.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I will definitely seek out other books by this author., October 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Somebody's Baby (Hardcover)

The book is a nice combination of the (somewhat unrealistic) mystery involving the 30 year old kidnapping and the more realistic characters and their relationships. As her past becomes revealed, Snow's personality, attitude, problems, etc. become understandable. I like for stories to reflect, as I believe our real lives do, how everything that happens to us affects who we are.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Story-Well Worth the Reading Time!, November 26, 2004

By 

J. Kirkman "book jen" (St. Petersburg, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Somebody's Baby: A Novel (Paperback)

In this story, Snow Devane learns a shocking secret from her mother before she dies of a heart attack. Ann Cook tells her that she kidnapped her from a supermarket 30 years before, and that she never was her mother in the first place.

Hardly believing her mother's words, Snow knows she must check it out. The only way to do so is to go through all of her mother's things in the attic, and find out what information she can. As she does so, Snow finds out that things don't add up. So probing into her mom's business affairs, and with the help of her best friend Katie, they find the truth. After that, it takes a search through the police department to find out who Katie's biological mother is.

I enjoyed the book thoroughly, and would recommend it to anyone wanting a different type of mystery. And it really is.