Perfect Harmony

by Barbara Wood

Overview

“We descend from a long line of motherless daughters. Always, at one time in our lives, our mothers guide us from Beyond. Someday you will hear your mother’s voice, as I once heard mine . . .” No corporation is quite like Harmony Biotech, the ultramodern health products dynasty based on ancient Chinese remedies. And no greater challenge has ever confronted its CEO, Charlotte Lee, than the series of deaths that strike users of its products in a single terrifying week. And because all the victims were known to be her enemies, Charlotte Lee had become a prime suspect. Her hunt for her nemesis will lead her through the midnight labyrinths of the Internet—and to a place and a time where today’s technology was barely a whisper, where the voices of her female ancestors will lead her to the secrets of her soul. Now, as precious seconds relentlessly tick away, Charlotte Lee must trust instincts deeper than she knows and a wisdom older than her years . . . as she fights to survive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630267681
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	06/02/2015
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

BARBARA WOOD is the international bestselling author of 26 acclaimed novels, including New York Times bestseller Domina. Her work has been translated into over 30 languages. Barbara lives in Riverside, California.

Read an Excerpt

The phone jarred Charlotte out of a deep sleep. As she reached to answer it, she looked at her bedside clock. Six P.M. She hadn’t slept well the past few nights, so she had come home from the lab and stretched out for a short nap. To her surprise, she had slept through the rainy afternoon. The caller was Desmond. His words dropped like bombshells: “Charlotte, you’d better get down here right away. There’s been another one.” She was instantly awake. “A third?" The room was dark; she turned on the bedside lamp. “How bad?” “Like the others. The victim died.” She closed her eyes. Dear God. “I’m on my way.” “Charlie. One more thing. There are picketers out front.” She squinted at her rain-washed window. “In this weather?” “Some of them are holding up the Chalk Hill picture.” Her stomach did a somersault. “Oh no, Des,” she whispered. “I just wanted to warn you so it didn’t come as a shock.” She hung up the phone and hurried into the bathroom, as if trying to run from Desmond’s shocking announcement. They had the picture. The Chalk Hill Research Lab incident. Charlotte’s waking nightmare. As she stood beneath the coldest shower she could tolerate, the spray set on full force, Charlotte pushed thoughts of Chalk Hill from her mind—the picture had come back to haunt her, as she had feared that someday it would—and tried to analyze the strange dream that had visited her during the nap: her grandmother saying, “We descend from a long line of motherless daughters. Always, at one time in our lives, our mothers guide us from Beyond. Someday, Charlotte-ah, you will hear your mother’s voice speak to you, as I once heard mine. ” “But how will I recognize it?” Charlotte had asked in the dream. “My mother died when I was a baby. I’ve never heard her speak.” “You will recognize her with your heart, not with your ears.” “And when will this happen?” “When the time comes. ” It hadn’t been only a dream; it was also a memory. Charlotte’s grandmother had spoken those prophetic words over ten years ago. Charlotte was still waiting to hear her mother’s voice.

Editorial Reviews

A breathless, helter-skelter race in cyberspace, effortlessly melded here with the tale of a Chinese woman's journey from the 1920s to the present, and with her granddaughter's terrifying chase to solve familial mysteries and industrial murder. Charlotte Lee is CEO of Harmony Biotech, manufacturers of ancient Chinese herbal medicines, now carefully monitored for safety and reliability through the best modern technology. Charlotte, who inherited the business from Perfect Harmony, her late grandmother, must suddenly face the accusation that three people have died after ingesting her products. Having been warned by v.p. (and cousin) Desmond, Charlotte drives out into awful weather (a tempest appropriately pounds away at California through much of the action) and is almost killed in a freak accident (or was it?). There are other unsettling near misses involving Charlotte's friends, and a message on the Internet advises her to make a public statement of company guilt within the next 12 hours—or else. Then into the intensifying miseries comes Jonathan, Charlotte's long-lost love who had inexplicably married another. Jonathan sets to work to make computer magic and unravel the conspiracy. Wood jumps back then to 1908 Singapore to relate the history of Perfect Harmony and her years of trial, suffering, and triumph. Before the close, with a starburst of revelations and one big surprise, there are family tangles to pick apart (odd couplings and adoptions); a touch of the supernatural as dead mothers speak; vendettas (one involving a government agent); a B-screamer interlude with Charlotte trussed to a bottling conveyer belt; and, of course, the happy romantic union. As ever, Wood (TheProphetess, 1996, etc.) shows herself a wizard at juggling action and romance, maintaining the momentum and sparkle of both. Bright, slick, and pleasing.

Kirkus Reviews

From Booklist With a beautiful Asian American heroine, a cross-cultural love story, a dose of Chinese herbal medicine, and a fascinating look at the world of pharmaceutical manufacturing, Wood's fifteenth novel will appeal to those who like a hybrid of the mystery and romance genres. Charlotte Lee is the head of Harmony, a major player in the international herbal-medicine industry. Charlotte has taken the ancient Chinese remedies once concocted in her grandmother's kitchen and turned them into a multimillion-dollar business. But now three people have died after taking Harmony products, and when Charlotte receives a series of threatening e-mail messages, it's clear someone is out to ruin the company. Enter Jonathan Sutherland, former FBI agent, computer whiz, and—coincidentally—the man Charlotte has loved since she was a teenager. Wood has a tendency to be overly dramatic, but her slickly presented tale offers entertaining escape reading. Emily Melton —This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title

From Kirkus Reviews A breathless, helter-skelter race in cyberspace, effortlessly melded here with the tale of a Chinese woman's journey from the 1920s to the present, and with her granddaughter's terrifying chase to solve familial mysteries and industrial murder. Charlotte Lee is CEO of Harmony Biotech, manufacturers of ancient Chinese herbal medicines, now carefully monitored for safety and reliability through the best modern technology. Charlotte, who inherited the business from Perfect Harmony, her late grandmother, must suddenly face the accusation that three people have died after ingesting her products. Having been warned by v.p. (and cousin) Desmond, Charlotte drives out into awful weather (a tempest appropriately pounds away at California through much of the action) and is almost killed in a freak accident (or was it?). There are other unsettling near misses involving Charlotte's friends, and a message on the Internet advises her to make a public statement of company guilt within the next 12 hours—or else. Then into the intensifying miseries comes Jonathan, Charlotte's long-lost love who had inexplicably married another. Jonathan sets to work to make computer magic and unravel the conspiracy. Wood jumps back then to 1908 Singapore to relate the history of Perfect Harmony and her years of trial, suffering, and triumph. Before the close, with a starburst of revelations and one big surprise, there are family tangles to pick apart (odd couplings and adoptions); a touch of the supernatural as dead mothers speak; vendettas (one involving a government agent); a B-screamer interlude with Charlotte trussed to a bottling conveyer belt; and, of course, the happy romantic union. As ever, Wood (The Prophetess, 1996, etc.) shows herself a wizard at juggling action and romance, maintaining the momentum and sparkle of both. Bright, slick, and pleasing. — Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. —This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title

From Publishers Weekly Charlotte Lee's yin and yang are in precarious balance. Nearing 40, the heroine of this New Age thriller is torn between East and West. While proud of Harmony House, the Palm Springs herbal company she inherited from her grandmother, Perfect Harmony, she pines for the Britisher who was the love of her youth. Lee's yearnings come to a head when three deaths are attributed to herbal remedies made by Harmony House-and specifically to her. Who is trying to destroy her? The finger of suspicion points variously to her cousin, her family lawyer, an FDA agent and a psychic. Then old love Jonathan Sutherland, a hacker-turned-fed, shows up to save the day, and Charlotte's emotional balance is further imperiled. The flashback sections of the novel featuring the strong first-person voice of Perfect Harmony alternate with a perfunctory third-person narrative, and Wood's (The Dreaming) novel seems to mirror the split in Charlotte's own psyche: turn-of-the-century scenes of Singapore and San Francisco's Chinatown are sharply realized. Zoom in on the individuals in the mosaic, however, and the picture blurs. Although herbology and Chinese customers are beautifully detailed, descriptions of gee-whiz computer technology should have been cut to the bone. Ultimately, the Gordian knot of Charlotte's self is far more compelling to untangle than the mystery plot. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. —This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title

From the Publisher