High Stakes: A Novel

Danielle Steel

Mar 2022 · Sold by Dell

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this captivating novel from Danielle Steel, five successful women play for high stakes in their careers at a boutique literary and talent agency.

Jane Addison is an ambitious young woman with big dreams of owning her own company someday. At twenty-eight, she arrives in New York to start a job at Fletcher and Benson, a prestigious talent agency. Eager to impress her new colleagues, Jane jumps right in as an assistant to Hailey West, one of the agents in the literary department.

Hailey is dedicated to the authors she represents, but her home life is chaotic and challenging. After her husband’s tragic and untimely death, she was left widowed with three children to raise on her own.

Then there’s Francine Rivers, the stern and accomplished head of the literary department. Also a single mom after her husband’s affair with the nanny, she has overcome the resulting financial hardships, but only with unbearable sacrifice.

Compared to Hailey and Francine, drama agent Allie Moore’s life seems much more carefree and uncomplicated. She relishes her success and loves working with the talented actors they represent—until a passionate relationship with one of her rising star clients threatens to derail her career.

Merriwether Jones is the CFO for the agency. She appears to have it all—beauty, success, and a perfect marriage until her husband's jealousy over her career threatens to blow everything up.

Even though she’s a newcomer, Jane quickly realizes that there are damaging secrets hidden behind the doors of Fletcher and Benson.  As one of the youngest employees, she has the least power, but is also the least willing to accept things as they have been for years. When she puts everything on the line to right these wrongs, the consequences will leave no one unscathed.

In this riveting novel, Danielle Steel tells the story of a group of remarkable women navigating the challenges of balancing their families, their personal lives and the high stakes of ambition at the top of their game.

Ratings and reviews

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒ High Stakes by Danielle Steel is one of my favorite of her books that I’ve read recently. I liked that she took on the #MeToo movement with a vengeance. These characters were realistic and I was drawn into this book from the very beginning. Jane Addison arrives in New York City ready to start her new job at Fletcher and Benson, a literary and talent agency. Jane is assigned to Hailey West, one of the best literary agents at the agency. Hailey is a widowed mother to three children and still struggles to balance her home life and the busy life of a literary agent. Also in the office is Francine Rivers, a divorced single mother to two children and head of the literary department. Her stern appearance hides some deep emotional hurt that she can’t let anybody uncover. Allie Moore is one of the drama agents and she loves her job mixing with top actors and actresses and wining and dining with her clients. Merriwether Jones is the CFO of the company, she’s married to an aspiring writer who also stays home and cares for their daughter. The new woman, Jane, soon finds out the agency has some secrets and she’s not about to let the status quo continue. As the newest woman on the team, she has the least to lose, and she’s not afraid to shake things up. I’ll admit at first there are a lot of characters, and it’s a bit difficult at first to remember who is who and who is married to whom. But, eventually, these characters become very clear and the journey each of these women takes makes for a very engaging story that kept me turning those pages as I read this book in only one sitting. What I loved was the way these women supported each other and took back their power. I thought the book was inspiring to all young women out in the workplace. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves women’s fiction. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

High Stakes by Danielle Steel follows five women who work at a boutique literary and talent agency. The story takes place during the Me Too Movement. I started reading and was quickly engrossed in the story. It contains Danielle Stee’s trademark writing style. It is a little hard to keep the five women straight throughout the book. It switches between the women without notice. I wish the story had followed one or two women instead of five. I thought Danielle Steel did a wonderful job at handling the Me Too Movement. One man fails to realize that you cannot grope women or demand certain favors. He goes too far with a new hire at the agency and gets a reality check. There is too much foul language for my liking in this story and there are intimate situations (forced and consensual). There is also a great deal of repetition. The same details repeated in different scenes as we go from character to character. I like how Jane handled gropey McGee and that she stood up for herself. She was not going to take his disgusting behavior any longer. It just takes one person to stand up and say no. The ending is predictable, and the relationships are questionable. It sends a mixed message (client with agent, boss with underling, etc.). Of course, when you work all the time, the only place to meet potential dates is at work. I like that we get to see the woman evolve as the story progresses. High Stakes has an ending that will have readers smiling.

it was okay..pretty predictable..dont think any of her recent books sre that good .like the older ones better. probably has a ghost writer

About the author

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world's bestselling authors, with almost a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include Suspects, Beautiful, Invisible, Flying Angels, The Butler, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children's books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.