This is the third Louise Bagshawe novel I've read, the other two being "Career Girls" and "When She Was Bad". If I'd read this book first I would have given it 5 stars, but I was constantly thinking about how closely it resembled the previous two. In all three books you have two women, one a curvaceous, somewhat common American brunette from the wrong side of town with a chip on her shoulder, the other a very slim green eyed blonde from an artistocratic English background. The two are fierce enemies and determined to destroy each other, while fighting to prove themselves as successful business people. Toward the end they both experience business problems and realise that the only way to save their individual businesses is to put aside their differences and work together. They then become a formidable team, not only saving their businesses but also becoming friends. While all Bagshawe's books are well written and entertaining, I think she needs a new plot idea - in every book I felt like I was reading about the same 2 characters, just with different names. I was interested to read one reviewer's comments about the 80's lingo and atmosphere not seeming authentic - I had the same problem with "When She Was Bad", another Bagshawe novel. "When She Was Bad" was ostensibly set in the 60's/70's, but the jargon was more consistent with current terminology - I'm not sure they used the words "booty", "like" and "heroin chic" in that era :) It seems as if Bagshawe sets her novels in the various periods for a change of pace without actually doing any research into the time. Despit my criticisms, "Tall Poppies" still manages to be an enjoyable read.
