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Southern Lights (Limited Edition)
Danielle Steel sweeps us from a Manhattan courtroom to the Deep South in her powerful new novel—at once a behind-closed-doors look into the heart of a family and a tale of crime and punishment.
Eleven years have passed since Alexa Hamilton left the South behind, fleeing the pain of her ex-husband’s betrayal and the cruelty of his prominent Charleston family. Now an assistan...more
Eleven years have passed since Alexa Hamilton left the South behind, fleeing the pain of her ex-husband’s betrayal and the cruelty of his prominent Charleston family. Now an assistan...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
November 17th 2009
by Random House Publishing Group
(first published January 1st 2009)
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I always love Danielle Steele:) this book was a bit of a change in her normal writing. It was a book that was one I didn't put down until I finished it. She has her main character as a woman who fled the South eleven years ago when she felt her ex husband had betrayed her and his family and friends were mean to her once she was no longer associated with a southern family. She runs to Manhattan and becomes an assistant D. A. where she lives with her daughter and is assigned to a criminal case whe...more
(3.5)
This took me for a loop. I was at the library for a quick browse at the Playaway rack and saw this ...Danielle Steel, I figured a romance book. I haven't read one in ages so I picked it up without reading the blurb. When I listened to it at home, it started off in a mystery fashion. I was disappointed! I was looking forward to romance and it wasn't. Never occurred to me that an author would go out of his known genre (back in the 80s I pegged her out as a romance novelist). I wa...more
This took me for a loop. I was at the library for a quick browse at the Playaway rack and saw this ...Danielle Steel, I figured a romance book. I haven't read one in ages so I picked it up without reading the blurb. When I listened to it at home, it started off in a mystery fashion. I was disappointed! I was looking forward to romance and it wasn't. Never occurred to me that an author would go out of his known genre (back in the 80s I pegged her out as a romance novelist). I wa...more
I always love Danielle Steele, this book was a bit of a change in her normal writing. It was a book that was one I didn't put down until I finished it. She has her main character as a
woman who fleed the South eleven years ago when she felt her ex husband had betrayed her and his family and friends were mean to her once she was no longer associated with a southern family. She runs to Manhattan and becomes an assistant D. A. where she lives with her daughter and is assigned to a criminal c...more
woman who fleed the South eleven years ago when she felt her ex husband had betrayed her and his family and friends were mean to her once she was no longer associated with a southern family. She runs to Manhattan and becomes an assistant D. A. where she lives with her daughter and is assigned to a criminal c...more
Alexa Hamilton married the man she thought was her dream man until he showed her how weak he was. He allowed his mother and his ex-wife to break up his marriage to Alexa. His ex-wife had had left him and their two young sons for seven years to marry a man of wealth. After the man died, the ex-wife decided she wanted her ex-husband and sons back, and her mother-in-law agreed with her because Alexa wasn’t a southern belle. Alexa’s ex-husband divorced her making the daughter they created together f...more
Just when you think you know the plot lines of a Danielle Steel book, she comes along with one that is on a different vein altogether. This one is of course a love story, but it's also about a serial killer as well as a family torn apart by divorce and a daughter's chance to get to know a father who has remained in the background in her life.
Alexa Hamilton is a single mom living in New York with her daughter Savannah. Savannah is 17 and has been working on her applications to colle...more
Alexa Hamilton is a single mom living in New York with her daughter Savannah. Savannah is 17 and has been working on her applications to colle...more
In the novel, Southern Lights, by Danielle Steel, the main character, Alexa, divorces her rich southern husband after 8 years of marriage,who goes on to remarry his ex-wife. Alexa, hurt and destroyed, moves to NY with her 8 year old daughter, where she makes it as a prominent lawyer and is now the DA assigned to a dangerous new case. Alexa is assigned the case of Luke Quentin, an accused serial killer. As Alexa reviews many hours of evidence and prepares her case, the most precious thing in...more
I read this book out of loyalty to Danielle Steel. During my early years as a reader I read so many of her books because they were much easier to come by due to her popularity. And I really enjoyed them. But as I discovered other genres and got access to more authors through ebooks I lost interest in her books. So I ws excited to get to read this one but was terribly disapointed. The main character Alexa is someone I cud identify with coz I carry anger with me for a long time too. She's intellig...more
This was a quick read and intriguing story, as it starts out with a murder suspect and you wonder whether Luke Quentin actually committed the crimes for which he's suspected. Then the book in contrasted from this seedy side of existence by a prosecutor, the heroin or the story, single woman raising a 17 year old daughter in NY. Clips to her x, a southern gentleman, who is contrasted against our heroine's strength and resilience, as a weak, meek guy who is a bit of a dim wit when it comes to li...more
Danielle Steel has always been my fave author, but she didn't do herself justice with this one. It seems like she wrote it in haste and there wasn't as much substance in it as with all her other books. She has not disappointed me before (i dun even bother to read the synopsis when I see a new book...i simply pick it off the shelf and make my purchase) but this has to be a beginning. The introduction of a new character came too late and the twist she hoped to create was a let-down. However, her s...more
I liked this one much better than a couple of her more recent books. I enjoyed the southern setting. The story line was interesting and her characters were believable. I couldn't help noticing though, that if Danielle had been a student in my classroom, I would have had lots of problems with her sentence structure! She had so many fragments,incomplete sentences, and choppy sentences, too. I think she and/or the proofreaders should do a better job. ...She didn't want her in Charleston again...more
I started reading Danielle Steel as a teenager. I think I read Star and was enthralled and started on her backlist. I regularly got her new books as Christmas gifts and truly enjoyed her books as a teenager. Eventually I branched out, found other authors and other genres. I've heard the complaints about Danielle Steel through the years, but continued to pick up her books from time-to-time. Some were wonderful, some not so much, but it can be like that with any author.
I recently ...more
I recently ...more
Wow, this was a page turner for me to say the least.
It is 326 page book and I read it in one day.
I just love Alexa (Assistant DA) and her daughter Savannah. As I read the book I wanted to find out more how it was going to end and I think by reading the book in one day you probably figured that out.
I have only read a couple of Danielle Steel's books and I have enjoyed everyone of them.
If you like to read about strong women, this is the book for you. Alexa was a very...more
It is 326 page book and I read it in one day.
I just love Alexa (Assistant DA) and her daughter Savannah. As I read the book I wanted to find out more how it was going to end and I think by reading the book in one day you probably figured that out.
I have only read a couple of Danielle Steel's books and I have enjoyed everyone of them.
If you like to read about strong women, this is the book for you. Alexa was a very...more
This was my first Danielle Steel book and I didn't love it. It seems hokey. The storyline wasn't awful, just undeveloped. It actually seemed like a book written for high schoolers. It felt like Steel was talking down to her readers. One of the lines (I'm paraphrasing) was "'He's happy he got the collar.' Collar is police slang for an arrest." First of all, who doesn't know that? but second of all, if you have to explain it, just say arrest and move on. There were other descriptions tha...more
I thoroughly enjoyed the first Danielle Steele book I read. Lately, not so much. Bungalow 2 was a disaster. And her heroines are increasingly wimpy - not the women of her earlier works. It does seem condescending to the reader - as if we could only relate to the dowdy, whiny, downtrodden would-be-successful if they had made better decisions. She departs a little bit with this heroine but trades it for fear and bitterness. Last time I checked men didn't find that attractive. Also, she should fire...more
It's been a long time since I read a book by Danielle Steel. Maybe my tastes have changed, but I found it a disappointing read.
As a writer, I've been hounded to "show, don't tell." Well, Southern Lights is mostly telling. There's also a big deal about some anonymous letters that gets glossed over. In fact, there's many plot points that hook the reader and then disappoint.
I finished it because I liked the characters and could skip over huge sections of the bo...more
As a writer, I've been hounded to "show, don't tell." Well, Southern Lights is mostly telling. There's also a big deal about some anonymous letters that gets glossed over. In fact, there's many plot points that hook the reader and then disappoint.
I finished it because I liked the characters and could skip over huge sections of the bo...more
This book had a lot of things that went on. Some of the things that I have liked was when Savannah went to Charleston to visit Tom, her father. But the thing that I did not like about her going there is her stepmother Lusia, she can be a total prick and she was. Just because her mother and Tom were a thing while she left him alone with their two kids. She had to think that Savannah was a total stranger. Savannah went to Charleston because her mother was the D.A and notes were being sent to her ...more
This book actually has a good start to it to say the least (or the most, depends how you look at it). There were a few things in this book that just got on my nerves more than a little bit:
1) Alexa Hamilton (main character) and her co-workers frequent a deli who's food is apparently so bad they have to take antacids after eating there. Here's a quote from page 49 of the book, "The deli was awful but the closest to the building where they worked. They all agreed that you had to be ...more
1) Alexa Hamilton (main character) and her co-workers frequent a deli who's food is apparently so bad they have to take antacids after eating there. Here's a quote from page 49 of the book, "The deli was awful but the closest to the building where they worked. They all agreed that you had to be ...more
I always love a Danielle Steel book, she has been one of my favorites for a long time. She is such an easy read you can zoom right through it. If you are in the mood for a good love story without all the smut. I really liked the storyline for this book and felt it could take some different twists. Once the trial of Luke Quentin was over, that part of the story died and I though she couldn't have taken a different spin, but I'm not the author. Enjoyable book, just like her others - she gets ...more
I have always liked Danielle Steel books as she does a lot of research when she writes her historical romances. If there was one thing about her books that really bugged me would be her heroine always is a wimpy person. No matter if she started out strong, there would be something that makes her a victim. For once, her heroine is the strong one and the other character is a wimpy male who realizes the error of his ways. Finally, Danielle Steel has become an equal opportunity writer.
Oh Danielle Steel - in your world, good guys/women always win, no one has problems paying their mortgage or gets a zit or is depressed, and love triumphs over all (and it doesn't hurt to have lots and lots of money). Great escapism, so-so writing. How about a story about real people? This novel is typical of all her books, although the one noticeable difference was that part of the story was set in Charleston, SC. As much as I disparage Ms. Steel's writing, I still read her books. Go figure!
The initial plot was good and I thought the story was interesting as it started out. As it progressed, it seemed like the author (was it really DS writing it?) became anxious to just finish it up. Rather than describing the action, it was more like a listing of events without embellishment. It was filled with angst and became repetitive which soon grew tiresome. I kept on reading but felt the last pages were just a quick way to end the book.
I read and loved Danielle Steele 20 years ago and really enjoyed her books. I haven't for many years now. I keep going back thinking maybe this book will be better. Southern Lights was easy to read but there was little substance to it and, I don't know if it's just me, but the author repeats herself much too much. She can say the same thing in one paragraph 4 times! This storyline had so much more potential. I was disappointed.
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A hard-charging ADA in New York City gets a new case involving a multiple serial killer and has a daughter who resembles the girls he kills. Started out with a bang, but then DSteel started the formulaic plot (divorced ADA, pretty daughter, sends her away to ex-husband whom she hates with icky new wife, etc.) Didn't really go anywhere (the serial killer was shuffled to the back shelf and then explained away in a sentence or two) and the characters were predictable. I did read it quickly, thin...more
Good enough to finish, but I honestly thought that Danielle Steel was incredibly redundant. You don't have to tell me 500 times that Alexa was scorned because Tom left her. I also think that Senator Edward (at the end of the story) should have proposed to Alexa with a ring. How Southern or polite is that to propose without a ring? Not very romantic, in my opinion. This book was just "okay."
I love Danielle steel books, since I read the first of her books "the promise" in high school I have waited anxiously for her next book, I am a few years behind but trying to catch up this on was a good one not all romance but the coming together of a family, and the change one woman couldn't make if it weren't for the unusual circumstances that brings her back to her past.
Alexa has to send her 17 year old daughter Savannah to Charleston, SC to live with her ex-husband and his hateful wife, because Alexa is the Asst District Attorney prosecuting a serial killer. It is not safe for Savannah to stay in New York as the Serial Killer has been sending notes to her suggesting he is going to kill her. While Savannah is in South Carolina, she gets to know the family she never knew since her dad's wife had always insisted she stay away. Alexa visits Savannah and finds h...more
I gave it 5 stars. I love Danielle Steel and Southern Lights was no exception. It isn't her "normal" works but it was one that I couldn't put down until the end.
Unlike a lot of stories, I was able to put myself in Alexa's shoes and I could actually feel the emotions and I could envision myself actually living that life. When I read, I always feel that if I can actually see myself as the main character, then the author has done their job well.
Unlike a lot of stories, I was able to put myself in Alexa's shoes and I could actually feel the emotions and I could envision myself actually living that life. When I read, I always feel that if I can actually see myself as the main character, then the author has done their job well.
Well I was kind of surpised the type of plot she was taking to begin with...but it seemed to drop off in the middle of the book and she reverted back to her old style of writing. I'm an avid fan and like everything she writes with the exception of one but the ball got dropped on this one. It was good but hate she didn't expand the mystery part.
This has a mystery in it, could be interesting. The plot was different from other Danielle Steele books. I haven't been as impressed lately with her books but this particular book is an improvement. One thing she does with her writing that does get annoying is restating ideas, details within the same page. This new direction is a positive change in my opinion.
Had potential with a solid storyline and interesting characters but it fell flat from the beginning. Nothing exciting or even interesting came throughout the entire book. I found myself bored, skipping pages because it was all so predictable. I found a lot of her novels end up being weak stories. It really makes me want to stop picking up her books.
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Since 1981, Ms. Steel has been a permanent fixture on the New York Times hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. In 1989, she was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having at least one of her books on the Times bestseller list for 381 consecutive weeks. But Guinness was premature. The fact is that one or more of Ms. Steel's novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list for...more
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