Daddy's Girls

Four daughters of wealthy Lord Oswald Balcon come under suspicion after he takes a fatal tumble in magazine journalist Perry's debut, a delightful offering for the beach set. Each daughter has a plausible motive. Actress Serena Balcon is involved with a ruthless hotelier tycoon, and her ensuing pregnancy could mean she carries the next Huntsford baron, but her father won't allow an illegitimate child to inherit the family fortune. Recently fired women's magazine editor Cate wants to put her own spin on a new upscale travel and fashion magazine, but daddy dearest tries to undermine it from the get-go. Venetia, head of a successful design company, yearns to branch out to the States, but dad, an important company shareholder, puts the kibosh on that as well. Barrister Camilla is singled out by her law firm to run for a vacant House of Commons seat, but Oswald, who has lost his seat in the House of Lords, tries to quash his daughter's political ambitions. The writing and plotting are swift, but Perry slaps on an unsatisfying conclusion and a too-pat epilogue. Still, her spicy first novel about four impossibly glam sisters and their power-driven, cantankerous father made a big splash in the U.K. and will likely do the same here. (July)