Celebrity chef Leith struck gold in her native Britain with Leaving Patrick, a light tale of love lost and regained, plumped up with plenty of elaborate culinary arrangements. In her sophomore effort, an equally conventional conceit is augmented by its larger-than-life protagonists. When we first meet sisters Carrie and Poppie, Carrie is playing with a gun, and the wiser Poppy not only assesses the danger of the situation, she also knows the most effective tactic to get the gun away. This scene is a sort of template for their entire relationship: Carrie is a beautiful, screwed-up alcoholic who sleeps around and envies Poppy her successful career and family; Poppy, a successful actress, is overweight, has a husband and three children, and envies Carrie her beauty and devil-may-care airs. At the height of her self-destructiveness, Carrie begins an affair with Eduardo, Poppy's husband. In almost no time, everyone seems to know, from Eduardo's outspoken mother to his and Poppy's longtime staff; finally Poppy figures it out, too. The rest of the book is devoted to cleaning up the mess. The subject matter is weighty, the authorial touch is featherlight, and things work out just as expected. Despite the sentimental ending, there is enough strife to make the story believable, and Leith doesn't shy away from complicated, heavily populated plot lines. This is a good-hearted romp that manages everything from the lascivious particulars of Carrie's dissolution to lavish culinary and wildlife details, without skimping on the inevitable happy ending. (Nov.)
Forecast:Though Leith's star shines brighter in the U.K.,
Leaving Patrick received enough attention here to bode well for her latest effort, despite its lackluster title.
