Is it an accident or murder when thrill-seeker Jonathan Donner, heir to a billion-dollar empire, vanishes while deep-sea diving? At the top of the suspect list is Jonathan's new bride, Nicole Pierce, a stunning beauty with a questionable past. In this latest thriller by Diamond (The Good Sister; The Babysitter), the eligible playboy meets Wall Street stockbroker Nicole while skydiving, and a whirlwind affair follows. He brings her to his clan's impressive digs on Long Island where Billy Joel is hired to play the family's parties and frequent guests include Rudy Giuliani and a Donald Trump–like character. Dubious of how they met, Jonathan's mother, Alexandra, believes Nicole set out to snag a rich husband. She, however, is the only one who's suspicious: Jonathan's sister, Pam, quickly takes to Nicole, even asking her for career advice, and Jonathan's powerful and intimidating father, Jack, goes weak in the knees when faced with Nicole's bewitching charms. All Nicole wants is acceptance into the Donner clan, but can she convince the icy family matriarch of her worthiness? After Jonathan's mysterious death, the two battle it out. Diamond writes like an aspiring action screenwriter, paying less attention to her prose ("The conclusion was inconclusive") than to the obligatory sex scenes and melodramatic plotting. The dialogue, too, may be better suited to film (" 'You can't always tiptoe through the tulips. Sometimes you have to wade in the filth'"), but fans of Diamond's previous work will find the book entertaining enough for a day at the beach. (Aug.)
