The Spiral Path [Paperback]

Mary Jo Putney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2002

Raine Marlowe has finally convinced her soon-to-be ex-husband to star in her directorial debut-but he fears that his character's dark secrets may be dangerously close to his own...

"Mary Jo Putney never fails to deliver a winning story with heartwarming characters. She is a pleasure to read...always." (Literary Times)

"Putney's writing is clear as crystal and smooth as silk." (Booklist)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The shooting of a film forces a divorcing couple to confront their conflicts in historical author Putney's second contemporary romance (following The Burning Point). Actress Raine Marlowe needs her estranged husband, action hero Kenzie Scott, to star in her directorial debut in order to secure financing. Although he never believed he could sustain a marriage, he still loves Raine and agrees without reading the script. Too late, Kenzie discovers that his role touches on his darkest secrets, and that playing it may tear apart his fragile emotional stability. Raine, too, has unresolved issues from a troubled childhood, and her directorial challenges are further complicated when her leading actress bows out at the last moment. The couple's fire and ice relationship is put to the test when she takes over the costarring role. Meanwhile, a vicious tabloid reporter launches a public campaign to uncover the past Kenzie has gone to great lengths to conceal. Putney handles her potentially melodramatic material with emotional honesty and insight while maintaining the taut romantic tension between her richly developed, complicated protagonists. Although many of the plot developments are predictable, including a denouement that borders on the saccharine, readers caught up in the spiraling developments won't mind.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Bravo! Putney proves she's every bit as good writing contemporary romance as she is with historicals. Film idol Kenzie Scott is so taken with actress Raine Marlowe he agrees to star in a remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel if she is cast as the female lead. After the filming they impulsively marry; then, four years later in the midst of divorcing, Raine persuades Kenzie to star in a movie she has written and will direct. At the last minute she is forced to play opposite Kenzie, and the angst-filled drama brings them together even as it rips emotions from the depths of their souls. They both had childhoods so painful that neither ever confided in the other, but when a cataclysmic revelation by a tabloid reporter threatens Kenzie's sanity and shakes both of them to their cores, they finally share the hurt with which they've been plagued. Putney's superb storytelling skills and complex and evocative characters make for an unforgettable story. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (January 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425183017
• ISBN-13: 978-0425183014
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USAToday bestselling author, Mary Jo Putney was born in Upstate New York with a reading addiction, a condition for which there is no known cure. Her entire romance writing career is an accidental byproduct of buying a computer for other purposes.

Her novels are known for psychological depth and intensity and include historical and contemporary romance, fantasy, and young adult fantasy. Winner of numerous writing awards, including two RITAs and two Romantic Times Career Achievement awards, she has five times had books listed among the Library Journal's top five romances of the year, and three times had books among the top ten romances of Booklist, the magazine of the American Library Association.

Her favorite reading is great stories, but in a pinch she'll settle for the backs of cereal boxes. She's delighted that e-publishing can now make available books that have been out of print.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling and emotional keeper!, January 14, 2002

By 

"monicapb" (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spiral Path (Paperback)

What do you do when your favorite auto-buy writer comes out with a book about movie stars-and you don't like Hollywood books? That was my dilemma when I received a copy of The Spiral Path. Then again, considering that Mary Jo Putney was the writer, someone who could no doubt make a vacuum cleaner infomercial riveting, I figured that it would have to be better than the typical Tinsel town story of glitz and glamour.
Turns out that it was way better than that. The Spiral Path is a compelling, emotional story that deals with overcoming the traumas of a man's childhood, healing and learning to trust someone enough to love them unconditionally.
With deft skill, Putney moves the reader back and forth through time, using flashbacks to tell the the beginning of Kenzie Scott and Raine Marlowe's relationship and marriage. Through the filming of the movie we see Kenzie slowly unraveling as he is forced, really for the first time, to confront the horrors of his past . Something Kenzie has to do if he is to have any hope for a future with Raine.
The metaphor of a labyrinth (a place constructed or filled with confusing or intricate passageways) plays well through this book. Not only as a place that Kenzie retreats to for healing, but also to describe the twists and turns in the story. Just when you think you've reached a climatic point, as in a maze you turn the corner and realize there's more waiting. Even with all those ups and downs, I found that the pace and energy of The Spiral Path strong to the end.
As a longtime fan of Putney's historical work, I am delighted that her contemporary work has the same depth and elements that has made her historicals keepers in my collection. The Spiral Path is a welcome addition to my keeper shelf.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put this one down..., December 31, 2001

By 

"lisathereader" (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spiral Path (Paperback)

I've always liked Mary Jo Putney's historical romances. When I read her first contemporary romance, The Burning Point, I was a bit disappointed. Since the pacing and dialogue used in historicals and contemporarys are very different, I've found that authors who can write well in one genre can't necessarily easily jump into the other. It looked like Ms. Putney was going to fall into the category of a writer who can write great historicals but not very good contemporarys. However, I decided to give this latest entry a try, and I'm really glad I did.

This is a very well-written book. The pacing is excellent and the dialogue is consistent with common spoken language (a common failing in poorly-written contemporarys). The story was interesting, and the story-within-a-story worked very well. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a well-written contemporary romance novel. But don't pick it up unless you have time to read the whole thing - otherwise you will find yourself staying up until all hours to finish it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well-written, emotional story, January 24, 2002

By 

Barbara O'Neill - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Spiral Path (Paperback)

I've long been a fan of Ms. Putney's historical novels. When she made the switch to contemporary, I skipped The Burning Point based on subject matter. With The Spiral Path, this author has given me a book to love as much as I had her earlier stories. Yes, there is still a controversial subject, but one the reader might be better able to get through.

I won't reiterate the plot summaries given elsewhere on this page. What I will say is that I couldn't put this book down. A compelling page-turner, the book grabs you from the start and stays with you after you've closed the covers. The author expertly crafts multi-layered lead characters and puts them through an emotional & mental wringer. She augments them with a super cast of supporting characters that adds texture and depth to the story. Her rich descriptions of New Mexico bring the land and its people alive in the minds of the readers

This book will easily make my list of best books of
2002. I give it two thumbs up. If Ms. Putney continues to write stories like The Spiral Path, I will continue to read them.