Publishers Review | SF Chronicle Review | FMSF Review | Kirkus Review Detroit Free Press S A N  J O S E  M E R C U R Y  N E W S A Napa author of three other books, Johnston has a wonderful eye and captures people well. Her writing absolutely shines when describing Stephanie, as in this section toward the book's end, when she has taken the witness stand. As she gave her age under oath, there were few women looking on who did not squirm with envy at the sight of this chic woman in a blue-and-white-striped seersucker blazer, cuffs rolled back; la Newport Beach, a skinny white linen skirt, and high heels instead of her usual flats. Showing the understatement she had learned from her mother, her only jewelry was a pair of small pearl earrings, tiny spots of luster in the cave of shadow created by the sculpted head of streaked blond hair, forever windswept. Her lips glistened with the palest pink lipstick as she prepared to break the silence forced upon her since Holly's flashbacks if not for a lifetime. The book is organized chronologically. Despite following this case as it unfolded in 1994, I admit I could not recall the outcome. Johnston's foreshadowing alerts readers to Gary's court victory in the malpractice case. Earlier this year, he filed to dismiss Holly's lawsuit against him; she is still pursuing her case, this time in Los Angeles with celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred. Johnston's exhaustive interviewing pays off. She's adept at putting the trial into historical context and seeing the players from different angles. True or false, Holly Ramona's memories and the poignant stories she would tell of the empty dinner table -- of a family that never shared a meal or really talked -- would reveal that Napa Valley's sunny suburbs had produced a hunger in its children not satisfied by its feasts. As the trial unfolded, Holly would force a shaken courtroom and a watching valley to look inside, to examine their own families. Everyone shared in the desperation that had built, unseen, within a smiling cheerleader at St.Helena High....If the perfect family was vulnerable, we all were. Jacqueline Cutler, who lives in Oakland, writes about Northern California books and authors. Write to Bay Area Books, San Jose Mercury News, 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95190, or fax (408) 271-3786.
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