Laura

With a snappy blend of treachery, blackmail and unexpected liaisons, Norman ( Spellbound ) puts a fresh face on the tired Cinderella-in-jeopardy story. Rising London employment-agency executive Laura Andros is keeping a secret from her megawealthy American fiance, Roger Ambler: she's a murderer. As shown in flashback, an orphaned Laura, sent at age 12 to an English boarding school, was relentlessly tormented by a pack of bad-seed schoolmates; after killing one girl in self-defense, she was sentenced to six hard years in an institution for juvenile offenders. Despite Laura's efforts to keep her past hidden, however, Robert not only knows her secret but finds it a sexual turn-on. After he and Laura wed, the new bride discovers a few of Roger's own secrets--including a preference for rough sex and a nasty plan to destroy her friendship with Augusta ``Gus'' Pietrowski, her confidante and protector from the juvenile home. When Laura finds new love with Roger's former friend but current enemy, stalwart newspaper publisher Tom Bailey, Roger's revenge on the pair is deliciously despicable. Equally pleasing to fans of nifty haute trash like this is the poetic justice served on Roger in the unexpected and satisfying finish. First serial to Good Housekeeping; Literary Guild selection. (Sept.)