Habit of the Blood - Hardcover

Battle, Lois

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0896218244 ISBN 13: 9780896218246

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 1987

Synopsis

Born to one of Jamaica's oldest and most powerful families, Ceci Baron has been rootless since childhood. Two desertions-first by her father and then by Paul Strangman, the idealistic but ambitious political reformer and the only man she ever loved-have driven Ceci from continent to continent, bed to bed, and to a life of self-protection and controlled intimacy. Against her better judgment, she returns to Jamaica and is drawn into a family crisis involving her dominating half-brother, her dangerously eccentric aunt, and her estranged father. But it is Paul who finally exposes Ceci's vulnerability, passion, and strength of character as she becomes entangled in political and emotional intrigue among the seafront villas and shanties of a Jamaica that tourists never see.

About this title

About the Author:

Lois Battle's seven novels include Bed and Breakfast, Storyville, War Brides, and A Habit of the Blood, (all Penguin). She lives in Beaufort, South Carolina.

From Publishers Weekly:

Battle's absorbing new novel should prove to be her most successful yet. Thirty-four-year-old Ceci Baron, the beautiful daughter of a once-famous character actor, returns to the family estate in Jamaica, where she finds the Nettleton Plantation in an uproar. Her half-brother and his millionaire fiancee are turning the former great house into a luxury hotel/gambling casino, funded by a mysterious businessman who may have ties to the Mafia. Ceci's Aunt Vivian, the owner of the estate, has retreated into a dream world and the servants are about to revolt. To complicate matters further, Ceci renews a love affair with Paul Strangman, a former prime minister of Jamaica, whose idealism has soured, and who forces Ceci to assess her life. This larger-than-life novel goes beyond the tourist scene to provide a glimpse into the tawdry politics and the drug subculture of Jamaica. Battle (War Brides, Southern Women has the facility and expertise to animate her sweeping saga. 40,000 first printing; $40,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0896218244
• ISBN 13: 9780896218246
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 631