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In THE TRIUMPH OF KATIE BYRNE, Barbara Taylor Bradford has taken her writing to a new
level. In this novel she incorporates suspense into her usual, astute character studies,
as she tells of a young woman who is haunted by an unsolved crime.
When Katie Byrne is 17, all she wants is to be an actress. Her two best friends, Carly and
Denise, share her ambitions, and the three of them can often be found after school in an
old barn, practicing scenes from Shakespeare or other classic plays. Encouraged by their
drama teachers and parents, they dream of the day that the three of them will take
Broadway by storm, each with her name in lights.
However, all of their dreams are destroyed one afternoon. The three girls are rehearsing,
as usual, in the barn --- each is going to perform a speech in the upcoming Christmas
concert. When Katie finishes rehearsing her speech, she realizes how late it is. She
apologizes to her friends for not helping to clean up the barn, but they reassure her that
her they want to stay a while longer and continue to rehearse. As Katie leaves the barn,
she senses that she is being watched, but seeing nobody, she shrugs off the feeling. She
hurries home, not realizing until she arrives that she had left her school backpack at the
barn.
Katie's mother doesn't want her to go back to the barn alone in the dark, so she waits for
her brother Niall to get home from work. When he drives her back, the barn lights are
still on and the door is open. Denise and Carly aren't there, but their coats and
backpacks still are lined up neatly against the wall. Fighting panic, Katie and Niall
begin searching for the girls, calling out their names. They hear movement in the woods
and go towards it, stumbling over Denise's body, horrifically beaten and lifeless. Soon
after, they find Carly, also badly beaten but still breathing, barely alive. The police
arrive, Carly is taken to the hospital, and an investigation begins. Unfortunately, no
suspects turn up, and Carly, the only witness, remains in a coma.
Ten years pass. Katie has studied acting at several fine drama schools and is a struggling
actress in New York. Finally, the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself to her, and
Katie is about to star in a Broadway play about the Brontės. However, she is still
haunted by the attack on her friends --- the case is never solved and never closed. Katie
must come to terms with the past if she is to succeed in the present and future.
--- Reviewed by Debbie Ann Weiner
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