Nealy Coleman was only 17 and deathly ill when she took her baby, Emmie, and fled into a snowstorm before her father could carry out his threat to send her little girl to an orphanage. Fate guided them to Maud Diamond's stud farm, where Nealy's sad story and her talent for working with horses earned her a place in the old woman's heart and convinced Maud that Nealy alone could chose the right mare and stallion to produce the farm's third Kentucky Derby winner. That's just the beginning of Nealy's amazing journey as she makes a place for herself in the dynamic and demanding world of horse racing, finds and loses love, acquires wealth and polish, and finally comes to terms with her father and family, too.

Continuing the saga of the Colemans and the Thorntons as recounted in Texas and Vegas, this latest novel puts the next generation center stage and is the first in a projected new trilogy. Thirty years after escaping her father's repressive Virginia home with her illegitimate daughter, Nealy Coleman Diamond returns to his deathbed, scrabbling to find answers to why Josh Coleman was so hateful and abusive. In the intervening period, she's become a woman of means, succeeding in the man's world of thoroughbred racing in Kentucky. Once all the secrets have been revealed and she's taken revenge on the scoundrel who impregnated her, will Nealy be free to find true love at last? As usual with Michaels's sagas, the characters range from the kindhearted to the blackhearted, with scarcely any halftones between. The plot verges on the melodramatic, but it moves too quickly to pall. It helps for readers to be interested in racing, since Michaels knows her Secretariat from her Man O'War. The audience for her previous works is probably waiting at the starting gate for this one. Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs featured alternate; Literary Guild alternate; author tour; Brilliance Audio. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

This riveting tale begins with Nealy Coleman's declaration, "I came here to see you die," to her bedridden father shortly before his death. The story then flashes back 30 years to her life as an abused 17-year-old single mother and Josh Coleman's threat to send two-year-old Emmie to an orphanage. His threat resulted in his daughter and granddaughter running away to Kentucky, where they find a home at the Blue Diamond Farm. Laural Merlington provides an excellent reading of this tearjerker, handling male, female, and announcer voices and Southern accents with equal ease and proficiency. Her delivery is evenly paced, and each character's voice is easily distinguishable. This professionally produced program is highly recommended for all public and academic libraries. Laurie Selwyn, Law Lib., Grayson Cty., Sherman, TX Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.