I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.***

Without a Trace: A Novel by Danielle Steel, Hardcover

Danielle I feel like stepped out of her comfort zone on this book, but it 100% was one of the best works I’ve read. Finished in one setting and definitely kept me intrigued from the absolute beginning…. I feel like doing the exact same thing this guy did sometimes!!! The publishing house where he had worked promoted someone from the internal ranks to take his place, make fewer waves, and do exactly what the owner wanted with no resistance. They opened a whole category of soft porn, which didn’t do as well as they’d hoped and had been sure it would. The business suffered as a result, and several of the big authors he had brought to them left when Charlie did, but for two years Charlie was out of a job. His world crumbled around him, and his personal life went with it.

Is this just a “one-off”, perhaps? I kind of hope so, but maybe I’m not a fan of Ms. Steel’s. I’m surprised though. Any thoughts, friends?❓ Long story short-he feigns his death until one day, his hotties ex-husband breaks out of jail (yep, in there for murder) and makes his presence known to them. So the husband decides to return from the dead and make things right with his family and his finances *snort* so he can spend the rest of his life with his young hottie.

Without a Trace by Danielle Steel: 9781984821867

I almost gave up on this book after the first few chapters. But, I must admit that Ms. Steel does bitchy, money-grubbing wife really well, so I keep going. But, unfortunately, the story got increasingly ludicrous as it went on. I must say that it took me a while to understand that while in America, the family would have had to wait a number of years for him to have been declared dead since there was no found body, and then they could split the estate. I was surprised at how fast everything works in France. One night, Charles’s boss keeps him late, and when he drives along the coast to their lavish chateau for the weekend, he falls asleep at the wheel and goes over a cliff into the Ocean. Expecting his death during the fall, Charles manages to survive, and he is badly bruised as he desperately walks in the dark to find help. He comes across a cabin, where he meets a kind woman, Aude, who nurses his wounds, and allows him to rest and sleep in her cabin. In a very short period, Charles begins to discover the passions he never had, and both Aude and Charles fall in love. Being presumed dead, Charles realizes that he can choose to disappear and have a happy life with Aude. Everyone thinks he has died, with funeral services done, and lawyers working on his will. Charles will learn that Aude has some secrets of her past, that will threaten their lives. With many months having past, together Charles and Aude must decide which was the best way to go for their lives together. Do they disappear forever, or have Charles make amends to face his family? One evening Charlie leaves work, driving towards their Normandy chateau. He has been working late every night, is tired and isn't concentrating. Just an hour away from the chateau, his car veers off the road, down a cliff and into the sea. The accident should have killed him – he almost felt ready to die. But he escapes – and somehow finds the strength to climb to safety.I’ve always wondered about people who can just walk away from life, and in Without a Trace, we get to see a man walk away from a lavish lifestyle, his wife, and two grown children. What would you do if your life was unhappy and you had a chance to disappear and start your life all over again? Charles Vincent learns the answer to that question when his car slides over an ocean cliff into the water. He survives, and finds his way to a country house where a lovely woman takes him in and helps him heal. Charles hates his job, is unhappy in his cold marriage, and wants nothing more than to move on in his life. Could this be his chance to just disappear?