Customer Reviews

The Triumph of Katie Byrne

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(36)

 

 

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.

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?

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.

I picked up this book today from the library because the description sounded perfect for a lazy summer's day read. The only problem was that I was put off by the writing immediately when the word "fey" or some variation of it was used three times in the first part to describe Carly and Katie. The dialogue, however, was what forced me to stop reading. Do people actually say, "I hope that's going to be in the affirmative?" or "Oh, very nice indeed." I am twenty-five, close to Katie's age, and i never speak like that. Plus, as an English teacher, I constantly tell my students to use dialogue effectively to reveal important thoughts, feelings, or relationships. Not to tell an entire story.

Disclaimer: I read this book for work, otherwise I would never have wasted even a moment of my time with it.

Barbara Taylor Bradford is a wonderful example of a fairly accurate generalization about publishing: If you want to sell millions of books, you've got a great chance if you're a terrible writer. Her simple-minded plots are what most critics rip apart, but the plots seem strong compared to her dialogue. HINT: If your dialogue doesn't sound like natural speech, it's probably bad dialogue. And now, two examples....

"Oh, get along with you Katie, 'tis not important, and I'm feeling much better today."

"Try not to worry, Katie, me darlin'. And don't forget what I've forever drummed into you...there's nothing worse than anticipatory despair, 'tis debilitating, for one thing, and a waste of precious time for another."

I can think of another way to waste precious time. Read this awful book.

How can a writer who did Woman of Substance do such an incredibly poor job on The Triumph of Katie Byrne? Are the editors sure that this is really Mrs. Bradford's work? It continually repeats itself and the adolescent nature of writing and interaction between characters leads me to believe that this could not possibly be one of her works. I highly recommend that NO ONE bother reading this tripe.

This was without a doubt one of the most boring books I've ever read. Dragged and lumbered along every inch of the way. And Katie's character was so trite. I kept reading the book because SOMETHING had to happen. Toward the end I was reading 1 paragraph on every 4 pages.

I read The Triumph of Katie Byrne by Barbara Taylor Bradford. In this book, the protagonist, Katie Byrne shares a simple life in the country. She and her two best friends, Carly and Denise, have a dream to become famous actresses in New York. Everyday they would rehearse in a barn, and one day Katie leaves the barn early only to realize that she has forgotten her book bag. When she returns to the barn, neither Carly nor Denise is there so she becomes worried and searches for them. It turns out Denise has been murdered and Carly is in a coma. There is little evidence to point out a clear suspect. Later on Katie moves to London where she befriends a wealthy woman who gives her tickets to a play. After the play Xenia tells Katie that she wants Katie to play a lead role when she brings the play to Broadway. Katie goes back to the United States to confront her old ghosts and re unite with an ex-lover. Carly wakes up from the coma and tells Katie who attacked her and Denise. It was a boy named Hank who had a sexual obsession with Denise. The mystery was solved and after Katie's great performance on Broadway, her true love Chris asks him to marry her.
I thought this novel had a very good plot and I enjoyed reading it. Katie's fear kept her away from her family, her home, her love, and her acting. When she finally overcame her fear and confronted everything, things went well for her, so the title was very appropriate. This novel totally fooled me at the end because I had no idea it could have been a classmate that killed Denise. I am glad that the ending was not predictable.

This was truly a horrible book! I had read A Woman of Substance long ago, and this doesn't even read like the same author. The beginning of the book is intriguing enough to get you to continue reading. Then, it quickly landslides into an unreadable mess. Some characters' (in England) secrets are hinted at, then never expanded upon. The mystery is too easily and stupidly solved at the end. And characters you cared a little about at the beginning are so undeveloped at the end (10 years later) that you just want this book to be over with quickly. I agree with the reader who said you keep plunging on after you've started this book hoping it will get better. It doesn't, and it just gets much worse. I could not believe the ending! And I could not believe I had wasted my time reading this sludge. I think after authors (like BTB) publish something like A Woman of Substance and then get a few bestsellers under their belt, they just stop trying. They know someone out there will buy anything they write just because it has their name on it. How else do you explain why this book was a bestseller? I was terribly disappointed and will not be reading another book by this author. It was a waste of money and time.

I have liked some of Barbara Taylor Bradford's books so I was amazed at just how poorly this book was written. Because it was a costly hardcover book, and because I could not believe there wouldn't ultimately be some redeeming value, I forced myself to finish reading this book. However, there is nothing good to say about this book, so I will say no more.