The Senator's Daughter

by Christine Carroll

Sophisticated Sylvia Chatsworth and up-and-coming attorney Lyle Thomas seem like the perfect couple. The future looks rosy until the romantic Victorian inn where they're staying is set on fire and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 193383630X
• ISBN13: 9781933836300
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Medallion Press
• Length: 441 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 4.5" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

The Senator's Daughter

Living the life of the rich and privileged, Sylvia Chatsworth never failed to be tabloid fodder. Her antics constantly sensationalized in the press, she only had to show her face to make the headlines of the nightly news magazines. She tried not to let it get to her until Lyle came along. Lyle Thomas has a promising career with the San Francisco DA office, Sylvia found herself very attracted to the straight-laced and very much respected man. However, the tabloids were quick to point out Sylvia was not good enough for him, even though she is the Senator's daughter. Making the headlines once again and dragging Lyle with her, things go from bad to worse. Thinking everyone wants her gone including Lyle and her parents, Sylvia decides to take off for a while on her own. Lyle is all too familiar with the pain of having someone he cares about disappear from his life, not willing to sit idly by not knowing what happened to Sylvia he takes an offer from her father to search for her. When he does find her, by being in the right place at the right time, he wants Sylvia to trust and believe in him much more than he wants her father's money. Lyle and Sylvia get to know each other outside the glitz and glamour and they learn there is so much more to each other than what they put forth for the public. As their attraction to each other builds to love, they find their lives in danger and it may all be connected to the reason Lyle showed up at the place where he found Sylvia. The Senator's Daughter is a really good book that I enjoyed reading very much. Sylvia was condemned where the press was concerned, she could sneeze and it would be turned into a trashy story. Wanting to take control of her life she takes off on her own and truly finds out what she's capable of without her family's name and money to fall back on. Lyle is an awesome, upstanding and sensitive man who truly cared for Sylvia. Sylvia's self-esteem was so muddled by how the press treated her she couldn't believe someone like Lyle could want her for more than just sex. When these two finally did come together is was a very beautiful thing. Aside from the love between Lyle and Sylvia, there are family relationships to mend and mysteries to be to be solved including who could possibly want Lyle and Sylvia dead. The Senator's Daughter is a fantastic, sweet and very intriguing story. Ley reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

interesting romance

The daughter of the U.S. Senator from California, Sylvia Cabot Chatsworth is a tabloid's delight especially for "On the Spot" reporter Julio Castillo, who makes her look like a spoiled man eating party girl. When he catches what becomes known as the "Kiss", Julio says San Francisco ADA Lyle Thomas is her next chump. Sylvia's steel magnolia mom tells her that her scandals hurt the family and she should vanish just like developer Tony Valetti recently disappeared. Hurt, Sylvia drives towards Napa Valley, but gets into an accident. She walks to the nearby Lava Spring Inn where the owners Mary and Buck Kline assume she is a spousal abuse victim on the run. Her father offers Lyle money to find his missing daughter as he and his wife believe the Kiss will motivate him. Needing the money and getting a leave of absence due to the Senator, Lyle agrees. Weeks go by with no hint as to where she is as Sylvia does not use her credit cards or call home. Meanwhile Lyle visits Tony's vintner brother Andre and stays at the Lava Spring Inn where he encounters their cook Sylvia Cabot. As they fall in love, he uncovers a shady deal involving his boss, her father, the Valetti brothers, and the Mafia. He can handle all that as the risks are simple: his job and his life; he cannot handle what will happen when his beloved learns that her father hired him to find her. This interesting romance with some late intrigue stars two wonderful lead characters whose Kiss will remind the audience of the Gores at the 2000 Democratic Party Convention. The suspense comes very late as Lyle's inquires hit nerves. Since the audience knows that Sylvia is okay though her parents and Lyle do not, her vanishing is not suspenseful. Christine Carroll cleverly defuses the coincidence factor by stating so rather than pretending otherwise. Although the investigation is abruptly rushed, fans will appreciate this fine contemporary. Harriet Klausner

Fast paced and delicious!

The Senator's Daughter is a fast-moving romantic suspense novel that follows its two very complex, very passionate characters from the ultra swanky hot spots of San Fransisco, to the lush green, but deceptive quiet of the Napa Valley's vineyard country. Sylvia Chatsworth, the wild-child daughter of a U.S. Senator, and Lyle Thomas, the man-to-watch in the San Francisco D.A.'s office, are the city's new "hot couple". Their romance doesn't have time to get off the ground, because to the displeasure of her appearance-conscience parents, the local tabloids soon focus their white hot, destructive lenses on Sylvia. Sylvia decides it would be better for everyone if she disappeared. For a price, the Sylvia's Senator father sends Lyle to find his daughter. When Lyle tracks her down in Napa Valley, he finds she's changed, and finds himself even more attracted and intrigued than before. Reluctant to reveal Sylvia to her parents, Lyle holes up with her at a Victorian Inn. Their passion grows even hotter amidst a suspense thread that involves a missing land developer and his vintner brother. There were so many things I, as a reader, loved about this romance, but the main thing that kept me riveted was the way Carroll allowed me to watch the transformation of her two main characters. As a reader I love a huge character arc, so it was a true joy to watch Sylvia and Lyle, who've layered on their different forms of mental and emotional armor to survive in the glittering, but cut throat social and political society of San Francisco, and watch those layers of armor be slowly peeled away. The story provided an escape into a fantasy many readers might have -- of leaving all the complications of real life behind, and getting "real" with the person you really want to be. That the transformations occurred in such a gorgeous setting, and amidst exciting plot twists, made the story even more of a fantasy.