San Francisco - Present Day

Disasters have a way of changing ones life...forever. The earthquake that strikes in San Francisco is no different. What starts out as a magical event for the Littlest Angels Charity Ball at the Ritz Carlton, quickly turns into a disaster zone as the rooms begin to shake, walls and ceiling to buckle, and the chandeliers crash.

AMAZING GRACE is the story of three young women who are at the Ritz Carlton at the time of the earthquake and somehow form a bond of friendship with each other in the aftermath. Sarah Sloane, a beautiful young woman with two small children, is the chairperson of the event. Her world is perfect; her husband, Seth, is a financial wizard, life is good, but the crisis that hits her personal life is bigger than any earthquake. Can she survive? Melanie Free, at only nineteen, is an up and coming singer, a Grammy winner, has her own band, plus an overbearing mother who controls every move. Melanie is performing when the quake strikes. Shaken but not hurt, she decides she wants to do something and goes about helping wherever she can. Can Melanie find her personal freedom, or will she self-destruct as so many young artists do. Is there more to Melanie than music? Sister Maggie is a nun who works in the Tenderloin District, who is only at the event because a friend had an extra ticket. But in the chaos following the earthquake, she becomes a source of strength for Maggie and Melanie to lean on. Everett Carson is a burned-out photographer, once a war correspondent, but now the only jobs he can get are those covering society events. After the quake, he discovers that he can do his job with out falling into a bottle of booze. Everett also comes under the nurturing care and friendship of Sister Maggie.

Sarah is devastated by the discovery of Seth’s embezzlement of millions of dollars; how could he do this, and as their world collapses, Sarah must make the decision to stay with Seth or divorce him. Sarah can only witness her wonderful life spiraling out of control, as all their possessions are sold to cover the cost of his lawyers. Will she learn to forgive Seth for what he has done? Will Seth admit to the embezzlement, or is he just angry he was caught. Once again Sister Maggie becomes a support for Sarah as she helps her through this troubling time. But what about Sister Maggie, is there something between her and Everett?

AMAZING GRACE's cast of characters starts out as in many novels, beautiful, talented, wealthy, but that is not what the story is about. Each of the heroines has to face her faults and life’s crises. With Sister Maggie’s nurturing, perhaps they can do this. Sarah is crushed by Seth’s actions; her anger and hurt rule her life. But as she struggles with the material losses, she becomes a stronger person. Secondary characters filter through the story line. Seth, for one, who has no guilt for his actions. Maybe Janet, Melanie’s mother, is not really a dragon lady, maybe is just a protective mom needing Melanie to stand up to her and voice her opinions?

This is a fun read, and as always, Danielle Steele’s story moves smoothly. Sarah is very sweet, but naïve, which I found irritating. You do not know your husband is embezzling millions of dollars? A clue would be to look around! The endings for all the characters are just a little different. Is this book a guilty pleasure? You decide.

I liked it.

Deborah C Jackson