From Publishers Weekly
This intricately plotted novel of family intrigue and ungovernable desire has all the ingredients for a compelling beach read: sex, love, lies, betrayal, hatred, revenge, threats of murder and eventual wish-fulfillment for an all-American guy. Bogner (To Die in Provence) follows the misadventures of charming lawyer Terry Brett from the 1960s to the present. Against his better judgment, Terry finds himself captivated by Allison Desmond, a beautiful, fearless young woman who was brought up in an orphanage and has led a gritty life on the edge of society. When their ill-fated romance ends, heartbroken Allison flees to India, while Terry moves to Southern California. There he marries elegant, sophisticated pediatrician Valerie Holland, who rebuilds his shattered self-esteem. But marital harmony is disrupted when Terry is summoned to his Pacific Northwest hometown to learn shocking news: Allison is back in AmericaAaccompanied by a child she says is his son. Torn by his love for two very different women, Terry decides to marry Allison under an assumed name and legitimize the boy, Sean. Thereafter, he divides his time between his two families until Valerie learns of his double life and the two wives confront Terry and each other. Forced by Valerie to make a commitment, he chooses her, and decides to let Sean think he has died. Terry's bigamy is exposed when, years later, Sean discovers the deception. Bogner's opening chapters are bogged down by detail, but all the threads are satisfyingly tied up in the novel's last half. To some readers, the novel may be an annoying male fantasy. Terry gets to have both womenAthe wrong-side-of-the-tracks bad girl who loves sex, and the cerebral, well-bred society lady who represents gentilityAand these two strong, intelligent females never stop loving him. $100,000 ad/promo. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A highly involved soaper whose title's irony is clear when criminal lawyer Terry Brett shows himself willing to honor both of his wives. Back in the middle '60s in Port River, Oregon, Terry loves smart-talking little hippie Allison Desmond. But Allison leaves him mid-novel to chase after her soul in India. Terry abandons his practice, leaves town, and suffers anxiety attacks but is brought back to health by the love of millionaire pediatrician and widow Valerie Holland, whom he marries. But then Allison reappears, bearing Sean, Terry's surprise son. Before her return, however, theres been a great web of plotting, largely around a famous but vicious pro basketball player, Earl Raymond, who has ruined a knee, can no longer play, and has been denied his insurance by his franchise owner, Jonah Wolfe. Earl induces Terry, his old college roommate, to handle a suit against Wolfe. Terry wins a half million from Wolfe, another hundred pages pass, Val and Terry are about to be married, and when Val introduces him to her father surprise! its Jonah Wolfe, world-class hedonist. Conveniently, when baby Sean comes down with typhoid, pediatrician Val is on hand to save his life, but even so, married now to Val, Terry realizes that his heart, at its wildest center, belongs to Allison and so he marries her too. But after Val saves Sean, Allison is so gratified that she tells Terry he's not actually Sean's father, that the whole business of the suit against Wolfe was cooked up, and that Earl led busty little Allison back into Terry's path for his own ends. Even telling all this hardly gives the plot away, nor does it suggest Bogner's talent as a dialogue writer, whatever the prolixities of the tale. Good storytelling, and without the ghoulish moments of To Die in Provence (1997). ($100,000 ad/promo) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"Highly involved....Good storytelling."--Kirkus Reviews

"This complex novel of love and honor is sure to be a crowd pleaser."--Book Browser

"This intricately plotted novel of family intrigue and ungovernable desire has all the ingredients for a compelling beach read: sex, love, lies, betrayal, hatred, revenge, threats of murder....All the threads are satisfyingly tied up."--Publishers Weekly


Book Description
One man, two women, three passions . . . Terry Brett is an ambitious man, a young lawyer on the verge of success when his destiny arrives in the form of Allison Desmond. In Allison he finds his soul mate, the love of his life. Allison is a young woman adrift, flirting with self-destruction--until she meets Terry. Together they are the fulfillment of each other's dreams. Valerie Holland, a dedicated pediatrician, fulfills her dreams when she falls deeply in love with a man with a secret--and he falls in love with her. From the golden coast of California and the white mansions of Beverly Hills to the magical canals of Venice, the painful and tangled relationships of a man and the two women he loves play out over the passing years when Terry makes a promise to . . . Honor Thy Wife

About the Author
Norman Bogner is the author of To Die in Provence, Seventh Avenue, and other acclaimed novels. He lived in Europe for many years, where, among other pursuits, he was editorial manager of Jonathan Cape, Ltd. He lives in Santa Monica, California.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Terry Brett is an ambitious man, a young lawyer on the verge of success when his destiny arrives in the form of Allison Desmond. In Allison he finds his soul mate, the love of his life.. "Valerie Holland, a dedicated pediatrician, fulfills her dreams when she falls deeply in love with a man with a secret - and he falls in love with her.. "From the golden coast of California and the white mansions of Beverly Hills to the magical canals of Venice, the painful and tangled relationships of a man and the two women he loves play out over the passing years.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This intricately plotted novel of family intrigue and ungovernable desire has all the ingredients for a compelling beach read: sex, love, lies, betrayal, hatred, revenge, threats of murder and eventual wish-fulfillment for an all-American guy. Bogner (To Die in Provence) follows the misadventures of charming lawyer Terry Brett from the 1960s to the present. Against his better judgment, Terry finds himself captivated by Allison Desmond, a beautiful, fearless young woman who was brought up in an orphanage and has led a gritty life on the edge of society. When their ill-fated romance ends, heartbroken Allison flees to India, while Terry moves to Southern California. There he marries elegant, sophisticated pediatrician Valerie Holland, who rebuilds his shattered self-esteem. But marital harmony is disrupted when Terry is summoned to his Pacific Northwest hometown to learn shocking news: Allison is back in America--accompanied by a child she says is his son. Torn by his love for two very different women, Terry decides to marry Allison under an assumed name and legitimize the boy, Sean. Thereafter, he divides his time between his two families until Valerie learns of his double life and the two wives confront Terry and each other. Forced by Valerie to make a commitment, he chooses her, and decides to let Sean think he has died. Terry's bigamy is exposed when, years later, Sean discovers the deception. Bogner's opening chapters are bogged down by detail, but all the threads are satisfyingly tied up in the novel's last half. To some readers, the novel may be an annoying male fantasy. Terry gets to have both women--the wrong-side-of-the-tracks bad girl who loves sex, and the cerebral, well-bred society lady who represents gentility--and these two strong, intelligent females never stop loving him. $100,000 ad/promo. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A highly involved soaper whose title's irony is clear when criminal lawyer Terry Brett shows himself willing to honor both of his wives. Back in the middle '60s in Port River, Oregon, Terry loves smart-talking little hippie Allison Desmond. But Allison leaves him mid-novel to chase after her soul in India. Terry abandons his practice, leaves town, and suffers anxiety attacks but is brought back to health by the love of millionaire pediatrician and widow Valerie Holland, whom he marries. But then Allison reappears, bearing Scan, Terry's surprise son. Before her return, however, there's been a great web of plotting, largely around a famous but vicious pro basketball player, Earl Raymond, who has ruined a knee, can no longer play, and has been denied his insurance by his franchise owner, Jonah Wolfe. Earl induces Terry, his old college roommate, to handle a suit against Wolfe. Terry wins a half million from Wolfe, another hundred pages pass, Val and Terry are about to be married, and when Val introduces him to her father—surprise!—it's Jonah Wolfe, world-class hedonist. Conveniently, when baby Scan comes down with typhoid, pediatrician Val is on hand to save his life, but even so, married now to Val, Terry realizes that his heart, at its wildest center, belongs to Allison—and so he marries her too. But after Val saves Scan, Allison is so gratified that she tells Terry he's not actually Scan's father, that the whole business of the suit against Wolfe was cooked up, and that Earl led busty little Allison back into Terry's path for his own ends. Even telling all this hardly gives the plot away, nor does it suggest Bogner's talent as a dialogue writer, whatever the prolixitiesof the tale. Good storytelling, and without the ghoulish moments of To Die in Provence (1977). ($100,000 ad/promo)