Vivian In Red

by Kristina Riggle Narrated by Chris Lutkin, Xe Sands

Overview

Famed Broadway Milo Short steps out of his Upper West Side brownstone on one exceptionally hot morning, he's not expecting to see the impossible: a woman from his life sixty years ago, winking at him on a New York sidewalk. The sight causes him to suffer a stroke. And when he comes to, the renowned lyricist discovers he has lost the ability to communicate. Milo believes he must unravel his complicated history with Vivian Adair in order to win back his words. But he needs help-in the form of his granddaughter Eleanor-failed journalist and family misfit. Tapped to write her grandfather's definitive biography, Eleanor must dig into Milo's colorful past to discover the real story behind Milo.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"With Vivian in Red, Kristina Riggle proves herself a master storyteller. Her expertly drawn characters and New York City itself pulse with life in this stunning novel loaded with family secrets, passionate love, and the magic of Broadway. An absolute joy to read.”
—Tasha Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Tears of Pearl

“Vivian in Red is an enchanting swirl of love, family, history, theater, and an ode to what we leave behind and what we still have left to discover. Add Kristina Riggle to the list of historical fiction masters.”
—Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of In Twenty Years
“Riggle has written an entrancing novel that gives readers insight into the Broadway theatrical world in its heyday. It also presents a nuanced picture of a large, unwieldy, but loving family and examines the mistakes people make in their youth that eventually come back to haunt them.


"Readers will enjoy this blend of romance, historical fiction, and family drama, especially those with a fondness for New York in the Jazz Age.”
—Booklist
"Kristina Riggle’s Vivian in Red is a tangled love story spanning generations, and a multifaceted mystery which keeps you guessing until the final pages. Theater lovers will relish this story’s atmosphere, but it’s an enjoyable read for all." -Historical Novel Society


Praise for the novels of Kristina Riggle

“Reading The Whole Golden World is like turning a kaleidoscope. Each of the main characters has a valid perspective, shards of which are visible in the others’ stories, though the patterns are completely different. With a deft hand, Kristina Riggle makes each point of view in this absorbing novel equally believable.”
—Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train

“Love, loyalty and the murky nature of the truth, are at the fracturing heart of this astonishing novel about culpability, desire, and the ways we choose to see our world. Just breathtakingly good.”
—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and Is This Tomorrow

“This story of two sisters, each broken inher own way, is as unflinching as it is compassionate. I was pulled in from the first page, as Trish and Mary reckon with the devastations of loss and the bonds of family, and as they make their hard, brave, often funny journeys toward hope and wholeness.”
—Marisa de los Santos, bestselling author of Love Walked In and Belong to Me on KEEPSAKE

“Kristina Riggle evokes characters so real that they are unforgettable in this compelling and absorbing story about predators, victims, and survival.”
—Priscille Sibley, author of The Promise of Stardust

“THE WHOLE GOLDEN WORLD is an engrossing coming-of-age story— a complex portrayal of the hazy line between youth and adulthood, vulnerability and strength. It is a captivating story from start to finish.”
—Rebecca Coleman, author of THE KINGDOM OF CHILDHOOD

“In The Whole Golden World, Kristina Riggle sets complex characters on a heart-wrenching collision course—the result is an engrossing and unflinching story about the ways our choices affect individuals, families, and entire communities.”
—Meg Donohue, author of ALL THE SUMMER GIRLS

“Kristina Riggle writes women’s fiction with soul.”
—Tiffany Baker, New York Times bestselling author

“A stunning, ripped-from-the-headlines tale of the intersecting lives of three very different women. THE WHOLE GOLDEN WORLD showcases Riggle’s masterful ability to raise important questions about fidelity, deception, and truth - and make us question our own answers to them.”
—Sarah Pekkanen, internationally bestselling author of THE BEST OF US

"Riggle writes about female family dynamics with a sure hand.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Told from the viewpoints of these three strong women, this work is an intriguing look at an issue that strikes fear in the hearts of many parents. It is sure to attract fans of Jodi Picoult’s “ripped from the headlines” novels.”
—Library Journal

“Riggle masterfully unfolds the families’ stories with just the right pace, tone, and drama, uncovering plenty of family secrets and emotional struggles without making it a soap opera. Fans of Jodi Picoult and Barbara Delinsky will devour this story.”
—Booklist

"Riggle has written an entrancing novel that gives readers insight into the Broadway theatrical world in its heyday. It also presents a nuanced picture of a large, unwieldy, but loving family and examines the mistakes people make in their youth that eventually come back to haunt them." —Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

2016-06-22
A Broadway producer of the 1930s is confronted by a vision from his past that may represent a problem in his present.Getting older isn't what Milo Short bargained for. Instead of being the power behind his company, Milo Short Productions, he ends up being the one managed by his large family, each member of whom has no end of suggestions about how he should be living his life. Well, less so his granddaughter, Eleanor, though that may be because her lack of steady income means she's a target for the Short family's helpful suggestions, too. All Milo wants is to play some piano and live independently, which he can do just fine, thank you very much, but his relatives treat him like an invalid just because he's old. His problem worsens when he suffers a stroke that deprives him of speech. Milo makes a medical recovery, but something seems to be holding him back from talking, though he couldn't explain what was wrong even if he recovered the ability to speak. Seconds before his stroke, a woman from his youth, Miss Vivian Adair, appeared from nothing right in front of his face. He's not sure what to make of this vision in red. His reaction makes it clear that he's done Vivian wrong, but it's not so clear how. Meanwhile, Eleanor, seeking to protect her now-fragile grandfather from outsiders, agrees to write the biography their family is demanding. Perhaps what she uncovers will set Milo free. Switching back and forth between modern times and 1930s Broadway, Riggle (Hope Out Loud, 2015, etc.) plays with a number of possible outcomes between the hero and his mysterious vision, though the mystery is never exactly high-stakes.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175334181
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	09/27/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged

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