title: Sheer Abandon: A Novel
author:  Penny Vincenzi 
description: <i>Starred Review.</i> British bestseller Vincenzi (<i>No Angel</i>) pulls out all the stops in this orchestral saga. In 1985, three young British women meet in a Heathrow departure lounge en route to precollege sojourns. One of them, upon her return to England, secretly gives birth and abandons the baby in a cleaning supplies closet at the airport; "Baby Bianca" captivates the public's sympathies until she is adopted. The mystery of who her mother is serves as the spine of this fat, satisfying novel, and Vincenzi creates multiple intrigues around the three women: Jocasta, a rising tabloid journalist (Vincenzi wrote for <i>Vogue</i> and <i>Cosmopolitan</i>); Clio, a physician specializing in geriatrics; and Martha, a corporate lawyer running for Parliament. It's 16 years before they all meet again, and Baby Bianca has matured into a stunning blonde teen, Kate, who is summarily exploited by a ruthless fashion editor as she searches for her mother. The various narrative themes crescendo through several all-hands-on-deck scenes, including a swank party where daughter almost meets mother, and a packed funeral where someone figures out who the father is. Although some of the male characters are too overbearing to be believed (especially Clio's sneering surgeon husband), the women are, without exception, multifaceted, smart and brave, and their happiness is hard won. A U.K. bestseller, the book offers major escape and abandon for summer. <i>(May)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: Copyright	©	2014	Penny	Vincenzi
  	
  The	right	of	Penny	Vincenzi	to	be	identified	as	the	Author	of	the	Work	has
  been	asserted	by	her	in	accordance	with	the	Copyright,	Designs	and	Patents
  Act	1988.
  	
  Apart	from	any	use	permitted	under	UK	copyright	law,	this	publication	may
  only	be	reproduced,	stored,	or	transmitted,	in	any	form,	or	by	any	means,	with
  prior	permission	in	writing	of	the	publishers	or,	in	the	case	of	reprographic
  production,	in	accordance	with	the	terms	of	licences	issued	by	the	Copyright
  Licensing	Agency.
  	
  First	published	in	Great	Britain	as	an	Ebook	by	Headline	Publishing	Group	in
  2014
  	
  All	characters	in	this	publication	are	fictitious	and	any	resemblance	to	real
  persons,	living	or	dead,	is	purely	coincidental.
  	
  Cataloguing	in	Publication	Data	is	available	from	the	British	Library
  	
  eISBN:	978	0	7553	7761	9
  	
  Jacket	photography	©	Christian	Ammann/Gallerystock
  	
  Author	photograph	©	Trevor	Leighton
  	
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