From Publishers Weekly
Honor, love and corruption provide the themes for the new novel by the husband/wife team who wrote the popular Deceptions and Possessions. On their wedding day, Elizabeth and Matt Lovell are forced to "temporarily" shelve their bright dreams of a future in journalism and take over a family business in Santa Fe. Sixteen years later, with two teenagers and a house to support, the Lovells gamble their assets on revitalizing a failing weekly paper. Elizabeth pours her considerable talent into writing a column, "Private Affairs," but Matt's seething ambition is stymied until Keegan Rourke, a wealthy businessman, gives him the helm of a multimillion dollar newspaper chain. Reveling in the view at the top, Matt refuses to see that his integrity is threatened by Rourke's control of the political agenda, and Elizabeth's outspoken distaste for Rourke drives a wedge between them. As his wife's fame snowballs (her column now has national syndication) Matt succumbs to a fast-lane lifestyle, and their relationship crumbles. Curiously flat descriptions of the good life and padded dialogue slow the action, though glitz-and-greed fans may find enough to interest them as the scenes shift from Santa Fe to Houston, L.A. and the ubiquitous hot tubs of Aspen. Doubleday Book Club main selection; Literary Guild alternate. MarchCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Recently graduated from UCLA's School of Journalism, newlyweds Matt and Elizabeth Lovell personify the hope and enthusiasm of their generation, with the road to success spread before them. The illness of Matt's father intrudes, however, and it is 16 years before they can embark on their dream of owning and publishing their own paper. Then Matt is lured away by an opportunity to supervise the expansion of a major newspaper chain, and soon he and Elizabeth are drifting apart. Meanwhile the two Lovell teenagers deal with the problems of growing up and their apparently disintegrating family. A happy resolution is ultimately reached, but the slow pace and Matt's less-than-engaging character deny the reader full satisfaction. Doubleday Book Club main selection; Literary Guild alternate. Judith A. Gifford, Salve Regina Coll. Lib., Newport, R.I.Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Judith Michael has millions of loyal fans. Her first two novels, Deceptions and Possessions, were coast-to-coast hardcover and paperback bestsellers. Now with Private Affairs, she is sure to have her most successful paperback yet!

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Honor, love and corruption provide the themes for the new novel by the husband/wife team who wrote the popular Deceptions and Possessions. On their wedding day, Elizabeth and Matt Lovell are forced to ``temporarily'' shelve their bright dreams of a future in journalism and take over a family business in Santa Fe. Sixteen years later, with two teenagers and a house to support, the Lovells gamble their assets on revitalizing a failing weekly paper. Elizabeth pours her considerable talent into writing a column, ``Private Affairs,'' but Matt's seething ambition is stymied until Keegan Rourke, a wealthy businessman, gives him the helm of a multimillion dollar newspaper chain. Reveling in the view at the top, Matt refuses to see that his integrity is threatened by Rourke's control of the political agenda, and Elizabeth's outspoken distaste for Rourke drives a wedge between them. As his wife's fame snowballs (her column now has national syndication) Matt succumbs to a fast-lane lifestyle, and their relationship crumbles. Curiously flat descriptions of the good life and padded dialogue slow the action, though glitz-and-greed fans may find enough to interest them as the scenes shift from Santa Fe to Houston, L.A. and the ubiquitous hot tubs of Aspen. Doubleday Book Club main selection; Literary Guild alternate. March

Library Journal