Read Between the Lies

In her fiction debut, a tale of three ambitious young career women trying to make it in the Big Apple, Emmy Award-winning writer Woolridge comes on like Judith Krantz with a social conscience. Gabrielle Donovan arrives in New York longing to become a supermodel; Stephanie Bancroft is determined to break through as a writer; Felicia Wilcot, the daughter of a wealthy black family and the wife of a successful attorney, wants her public relations firm to succeed on its own merits. When Stephanie lands a job as Felicia's secretary, she quickly books her new friend Gabrielle as a model for one of the firm's clients. As the three women's fortunes become intertwined, however, it becomes apparent to the reader that they all have secrets to hide. Gabrielle is illiterate, a fact that humiliates her even as she achieves her dream of superstardom. Felicia begins an extramarital affair with a controversial Spike Lee-ish director, despite their initial antagonistic encounters. Scrappy and opportunistic Stephanie reveals her true colors. When the truth about their pasts come out, will it finally set them free? Woolridge contributes lavish amounts of designer opulence and jet-set scenarios to her confectionery plot, adding some substance through her themes of secret illiteracy and the plight of successful black women. Some biting dialogue brings zest to what is essentially a classic combination of glitz, romance, secrets and lies. Agent, Marie Dutton Brown. (May) FYI: Woolridge is director of Project Literacy United States (PLUS) Outreach, and has worked in television broadcasting for ABC, PBS and Black Entertainment Television.