Summary:
When PR pro Anna Wallingham gets dumped by her last client, she finds herself running out of options in LA, where looks trump experience. Desperate to prove she is still relevant, the fiftysomething accepts a shady job offer from Pierre Barton, secretive billionaire owner of Barton Pharmaceuticals.
Isolated in a facility outside London, she agrees to test a new top-secret product guaranteed to make her look thirty years younger. Anna is starting to look on the outside the way she feels on the inside: ageless. But she soon discovers that her predecessor died under mysterious circumstances, leading her to research just who stands to gain—and lose—with this miraculous product. When Pierre drops dead in front of her, she takes off on a dangerous journey across Europe hoping to stay alive long enough to uncover the truth. With the hard-won knowledge that younger isn’t always better, Anna is determined to escape and reclaim her life before it’s too late.
My take: 4 looks
Originally reviewed October 3, 2015
This book was a fast and easy read. Built around the vanity of (primarily) American women, a revolutionary beauty product promises what so many desire: youthful looks. With an interesting cast of characters and many turns of events, it is hard to know whom Anna should trust. Her name has been changed twice, she has a variety of passports, an ironclad nondisclosure agreement, and she keeps running into an MI6 agent. Oh, and is it her imagination, or is she being followed?
Tapping into the truth that we all must face aging, the constraints that society puts on older women, and the exceptional lengths that some will go to to retard that process, this is a very timely and relevant book, aside from the mystery and intrigue of the story.
A compelling story with a twist at the end, this is…
Highly recommended.
