The Triumph of Katie Byrne [Hardcover]

Barbara Taylor Bradford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2001

Barbara Taylor Bradford takes her legendary storytelling to an exciting new level in this stunning, suspenseful tale about a young woman whose life is shattered by an unspeakable crime.

Seventeen-year-old Katie Byrne stands shivering in the cold Connecticut woods, her flashlight illuminating a scene out of a nightmare. Carly, one of her two closest friends, lies beaten and unconscious, her face covered in blood. Moments later, the horror escalates when Katie's brother discovers the lifeless body of Denise, the third member of their inseparable trio. Nearby is the old barn where only hours before the three girls joyfully rehearsed Shakespearean speeches for an upcoming school performance. For Katie, who returned to the makeshift theatre to retrieve schoolbooks she had forgotten in her haste to get home early, the tragedy marks the end of a long-shared dream. The girls began acting together as ten-year olds with stars in their eyes, fantasizing about the day they would all move to New York and take Broadway by storm. Now, only Katie can realize the dream.

Ten years later, Katie, a tall, lanky beauty with reddish-gold hair, is a struggling actress in New York. Haunted by the memory of Denise's death and by thoughts of Carly, who still lies in a coma, she longs for the fame and celebrity they imagined together so long before. After an acclaimed performance Katie finally wins a starring role on Broadway and begins a promising love affair. But before she can step into the spotlight, Katie must escape the dark shadows of the past.

In sixteen previous bestselling novels, Barbara Taylor Bradford has enthralled millions of readers with page-turning plots and characters that linger in the heart and mind long after the book is closed. In The Triumph of Katie Byrne, romance, the theatre, and murder and mystery from the past all collide in a tale that will keep readers spellbound until the very last page.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Long celebrated as a bestselling chronicler of women's lives, Bradford adds a mystery twist to her latest tale of romantic suspense. At 17, Katie Byrne and her lifelong best friends, Denise and Carly, share a passion to act on Broadway and plan to move from their mid-Connecticut town to New York after high school graduation. One day, Katie's early departure from their daily after-school acting rehearsals in Denise's uncle's barn saves her from a brutal attack on the other girls. With Denise dead and Carly in a coma, Katie fears she'll be the next victim, and for a time, acting loses its appeal. Ten years later, the murderer is yet to be found, Carly remains in a coma and Katie has picked up the pieces of her life and moved to London, studying in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. When she's offered the part of Emily Bront‰ in a play bound for Broadway, she realizes it's the chance of a lifetime. But she's apprehensive about returning to face the ghosts of her past and hesitates to fulfill her childhood dream without her best friends to share it. Bradford sets a quick pace by introducing tough police detective Mac MacDonald, aka Mac the Knife, and by showing how Katie and her family dealing with the tragedy. The second half falls off, however, reverting mainly to inner dialogues and Katie's doubts about her ability to perform on stage. A too convenient, totally unmotivated solution to the murder caps the curiously thin narrative, in which Bradford never fully renders her characters. This is a fast but shallow read, perhaps satisfying to Bradford's fans but not a significant milestone in her career.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Teenager Katie Byrne and her two best friends, Carly and Anne, always aspired to be actresses; they spent many hours reenacting roles in famous plays. But their dream is shattered when Anne is murdered and Carly is beaten into a coma. This tragedy now pervades every aspect of Katie's young adult life. She feels guilty as the sole survivor and harbors a fear that someone is stalking her. Nevertheless, Katie turns to acting and eventually is offered a role on Broadway. The first part of the novel is the most compelling, with the account of the attack and its aftermath along with the police investigation. As Katie travels to London, then to Broadway, and back to her home in Connecticut, the disaster in her early life seems to demand resolution. Reader Kate Burton nicely captures both the American and British accents of the characters. Recommended for general fiction collections. Catherine Swenson, Norwich Univ., Northfield, VT
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (March 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385501404
• ISBN-13: 978-0385501408
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,527,068 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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not so bad but........., April 7, 2001

By 

Nancy R. Katz "NancyK18" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Triumph of Katie Byrne (Hardcover)

There was a time when Barbara Taylor Bradford's books were a light piece of fluff and an enjoyable read. But her last few books were tiresome and I didn't really think I would ever read her books again. Then I found her new book, The Triumph of Katie Byrne, at the local library and being in between books, I thought, why not? The good news is it wasn't an altogether bad read, the bad news is it wasn't an altogether good read either.

The Triumph of Katie Bryne is actually two books and if Bradford had published them this way, they might have been right on the money. The first book is concerned with three young women yearning to become actresses who plan on moving to New York City when they graduate from high school. But their plans are shattered when in a single afternoon, one girl is killed and another one is hurt so badly she lapses into a coma. The third woman, Katie Bryne, who was on her way home when the attack takes place, is understandably forever changed. Although an invetsigation takes place the guilty party is never found and the years begin to roll by.

The second part of the book takes place 10 years later where we find Katie studying drama in London. When she is offered the role of Emily Bronte in a play about the Bronte family, a friend suggests, as a means of inspiration, that Katie visit the countryside where the Brontes lived and wrote their classic works. Katie then travels with this friend to the ancestral home of her late husband's family in Yorkshire where Katie spends time walking the moors, visitng the Bronte library and learning more about the Brontes from another guest in this home. And for me this was the more interesting part of the book and the one which I would have enjoyed continuing to read more about.

The last part finds Katie returning home on the advice of a psychic who tells her she must be at home to help solve the mystery. And when Katie opens on Broadway to rave reveews she not only finds love but........and to find out what happens you will have to read the book.

Known for her romance and family saga books, this is Ms. Bradford's first attempt at a murder mystery as she calls it or romantic suspense as I call it. But she included too many bits and pieces of irrelevant information for a book of this size and somehow all of this only detracted from honing in on the main plot of the book. I do wish somehow she could write another book like A Woman of Substance but perhaps that only comes along once in a lifetime. As for whether or not I'll read another Bradford book, I guess only time will tell.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Appallingly Awful, December 5, 2002

By 

P. Sherman (Greenville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Triumph of Katie Byrne (Hardcover)

Now I know why this book was 50 cents at a book warehouse. I advise you not to spend so much on it. The first 106 pages are where the action is and are interesting, if tame. You can then skip from there to about 10 pages from the end, and you will have read the substance of the book. Better still, save time: Read the first 106 pages and then email me and I will tell you who did it and you can move on to another book! Such an otherwise good author, what was she thinking?

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Booooooring!, July 20, 2001

By 

Heather L. Williams "Heather" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Triumph of Katie Byrne (Hardcover)

This book initially captured my interest because the plot sounded interesting. But it was not.

Part 1 begins with Katie and her two 17 year old friends, Carly and Denise, as lifelong friends dreaming of acting on Broadway. However, these dreams are dashed when Denise is brutally murdered and raped and Carly is badly beaten and left in a coma. The two girls are found by Katie and her brother and this experience scars them for life. Yadda, yadda.

Part 2 - race ahead 10 years. Katie is now 27 and living in London studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She is offered "the part of a lifetime" acting as Emily Bronte in a new play (huh?). This part is made up mostly of Katie doing obscure research of the Bronte sisters in Yorkshire and telling people about her past. She meets many very flat, boring characters that are not explained. All this "mysterious" stuff is going on among the whole group which promises to be explained later, but never is. We know nothing about them, their pasts, their presents or futures, but who cares. She also meets a psychic who tells her that she must go "home" that her future is there. Whatever.

Part 3 - move ahead a couple of months. Katie is rehearsing for her part in the play. You meet up with a few more bland characters including an ex of Katie's that has never been explained. Katie also meets up with a new man that for some reason she feels an instant connection with and falls madly in love with. Her performance is supposedly an instant hit, she and her lover work out all their supposed problems, the crime is solved and everyone lives happily ever after. Yeah, right.

It almost seems as if the author was told this book had to be under 300 pages but she had to write all this junk in it. None of the characters make any sense, no relationships are explained at all, the plot is obscure and the book is really bad. The ending is probably the worst. I won't give it away, but when I read the solution to the crime, I was saying, "Huh???" It was completely implausible.

Even though I am going to try to sell this used, I know I won't have any luck. Don't buy it! You'll regret it! My 5 year old niece could tell a better story and it would make a lot more sense.