Risk Worth Taking

Publishers Weekly

Pilcher (An Ocean Apart; Starting Over) crafts another engaging, happy-ending tale in the tradition of his mother, beloved British novelist Rosamunde Pilcher. Dan Porter was a successful London investment banker until the dot-com bubble burst. Now his portfolio's crashed, he's lost his job, and his beautiful wife, Jackie, the managing director of a design firm, is giving him the cold shoulder. His son, Josh, has dropped out of college, and his daughters Millie and Nina are miserable in the public school that dwindling assets force them to attend. A fortuitous inquiry into the sale of a trendy trousers factory in bleak Fort Williams, Scotland (sparked by an article about owner Katie Trenchard, which Dan reads in Woman's Weekly), leads to interim employment at Seascape, the prosperous prawn sales business belonging to Katie's disabled husband, Patrick. As Dan's getting drenched in Scotland, Jackie starts spending more time with Stephen, the design firm's young financial director. Pilcher relies heavily on coincidence, but readers will probably forgive strains on narrative credibility in their eagerness to root for Dan. Dan, Katie and Patrick all get along beautifully (barring one desire-driven slip between the first two, which only proves them human); Josh, who went north with his father, swiftly discards his slacker past for industriousness and affection for a young Latina co-worker, and Dan's stereotypical teenage daughters show emerging admirable traits. Jackie, on the other hand, sins and isn't sorry, so contented readers don't care what happens to her. They will care about Dan, though, and his children and friends, and will approve of Dan's belief that risks are worth taking, and that life can be a great game. (Feb.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Without a job, is Dan a man? His put-upon wife Jackie doesn't think so. He's been playing solitaire until all hours and oversleeping, just because his London dot-com company went belly-up . . . and, speaking of bellies, Dan doesn't look so good in that tattered old T-shirt he oversleeps in. Yet Dan Porter was once a big success: a financial market maker in the City who moved into the tech sector only months before the boom went bust. And then came 9/11. At least he's not the only guy out of work. His friend Nick Jessop has turned into a glorified kangaroo, carrying his baby with him wherever he goes and hoping to make a million reinventing a baby car-seat. Dan's investments have plummeted, and Jackie's the breadwinner now, feeling the strain of keeping two daughters in expensive schools, though their son, Josh, has dropped out of Manchester University to sleep all day, too, then frequent headbanger clubs at night. Gosh, muses Dan. Is everything his fault? Jackie thinks so. Unbeknownst to Dan, she's being seduced by a suave accountant. Will Jackie leave Dan for Steve? Back to that in about six months as Dan heads to Scotland to meet plucky Kate, CEO of a prawn-fishing enterprise. Even though Kate's husband has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, she soldiers on, supplying tons of prawns to the UK and Europe. And she's handy with a needle, too: the comfy playclothes she whipped up for her children has morphed into a successful fashion line that, however, isn't widely distributed. Will Dan agree to market the line? Yup! Bitchy Jackie accuses him of infidelity: Is he the father of yet another woman's baby, an American? No-but he's supporting her and her child because she wasn't married tohis friend, who died in the World Trade Center, and so isn't eligible for 9/11 compensation. Jackie leaves him anyway. Contrived, unfocused, self-indulgent. The son of Rosamund has brought us two other tedious contemporary soapers (Starting Over, 2002, etc.). Agent: Felicity Bryan

The Midwest Book Review

This is an engaging character study of a person who once was riding the crest, but since has lost his self esteem…The cast is a delightful ensemble…Robin Pilcher provides a deep look at what really counts as Dan reassess his values and how he has lived.

— Harriet Klausner

BookPage

The good news? Her [Rosamunde Pilcher's] son and fellow author, Robin Pilcher, will release A Risk Worth Taking this month.

Booklist

Pilcher offers a charming story about life in the new millennium and one man's pursuit of happiness, a tale that will appeal to both men and women.