From Lisa Tucker, the critically acclaimed author of The Song Reader, comes a wise, humorous, and deeply compassionate novel about the risks and rewards of loving when a single day can change our lives. Nineteen years ago, a famous man disappeared from Los Angeles, taking his two children, Dorothea and Jimmy, to a rocky, desolate corner of New Mexico where he raised them in complete isolation in a utopian "Sanctuary." The children grew up with books and encyclopedias, records and a grand piano, but no television, computer, radio, or even a newspaper. Now Dorothea, at twenty-three, is leaving this place in search of her missing brother -- and venturing into the wide world for the first time. Dorothea's search will turn into an odyssey of discovery, leading to the truth of her family's past and the terrifying day that changed her father forever. But Dorothea's journey will also introduce her to an unusual cast of characters, including a homeless girl from Missouri who becomes a jazz singer and a social worker whose mistake in judgment changes her best friend's life. And she will meet Stephen, a doctor turned cabdriver who, after suffering his own losses, has lost his ability to believe in a meaningful world. Together, they have a chance to make a discovery of a different kind: that though a heart can be broken by the tragic events of a day, a day can also bring a new chance at love and a deeper understanding of life's infinite possibilities. Beautifully written, with a spellbinding story, Once Upon a Day is "a lyrically poignant reminder of the necessity of hope" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Tucker's outstanding novel (after Shout Down the Moon) is as structurally dextrous as it is emotionally satisfying, boasting a chorus of extraordinary voices and assured parallel plot lines separated by four decades. In the present day, 23-year-old Dorothea has left her overprotective father's secluded 35-acre New Mexico estate, called the Sanctuary, where she and her brother, Jimmy, had been sheltered from current news and all modern-day innovations. Searching for her runaway brother in St. Louis, Dorothea meets a recently widowed doctor-turned-cabbie, who introduces her to the vibrant outside world he's been trying to escape. A parallel tale set in the 1970s follows the budding romance between a successful film director and the waif who becomes his muse, his wife and the object of his obsessive control. The tour de force resolution that ties both stories together is a lyrically poignant reminder of the necessity of hope. An exceptionally empathetic storyteller, Tucker has created a haunting, gripping novel that brims with graceful writing and fragile characters. This should be catnip for book clubs, whether they devour it as a page-turner about parenting and family or discuss its subtle meditations on fate and coincidence, wealth and poverty, freedom and safety, fairy tales and American dreams. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistIn what may well be her breakout book, after Shout Down the Moon (2004), the gifted Tucker tells a compelling love story with uncommon empathy and grace. Stephen Spaulding loses his family in a freak accident and with them any hope that his actions can make a difference. He gives up his medical practice and begins driving a cab. That's how he meets 23-year-old Dorothea, who seems to be dressed like a throwback to the 1950s, complete with saddle shoes. She's looking for her brother, who has run away from their New Mexico ranch. Stephen helps Dorothea track down the brother and, at the same time, learn why her father fled Hollywood, changing his children's names and keeping them completely isolated from the outside world. The plotline of the Hollywood story is, appropriately enough, over the top, but that detracts from the genuinely moving love story that develops between the wounded Stephen and the heartbreakingly naive Dorothea. Here's hoping the talented Tucker will rein in the melodrama the next time out. Joanne WilkinsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

In acclaimed bestselling author Lisa Tucker’s mesmerizing and suspenseful tale of intimacy, betrayal, and lost innocence, a literature professor’s carefully constructed life shatters after her twin brother’s death.On a March afternoon, while Lila Cole is working in her quiet office, her twin brother, Billy, points an unloaded rifle out a hotel window, closing down a city block. The aftermath of his death brings shock after shock for Lila when she discovers that her brilliant but troubled twin was not only estranged from his wife, but also charged with endangering the life of his middle child and namesake, eight-year-old William. As Lila struggles to figure out what was truth and what was fiction in her brother’s complicated past, she will put her job, her marriage, and even her sanity at risk. And when the hidden meaning behind Billy’s stories comes to light, she will have to act before Billy’s children are destroyed by the same heartbreaking reality that shattered her protector and twin more than twenty years ago.**From Publishers WeeklyEngrossing and suspenseful, Tucker's remarkable fourth novel (after The Cure for Modern Life) unveils the motives behind the curious behavior and superfluous lies of unusually close-knit fraternal twins. Brilliant but mercurial Billy Cole, estranged from his wife, Ashley, commits suicide after losing visitation rights to his children. After Billy's death, his fragile twin, Lila, immediately begins to break down, recalling bizarre incidents and feeling overwhelmed by dread. Once her husband, Patrick, who always prized reason over emotion, hears from Ashley that the twins lied about their parents being dead, he connects with Lila's mother, Barbara, and gets a very different picture of the twins' past. By rotating points of view between Lila, Patrick, Billy and Ashley, Tucker fleshes out the story, leaving readers understanding how both guileless and malevolent actions can be misconstrued. The strong, plausible narrative threatens to lapse into melodrama at the end but Tucker's easy hand with characters and persuasive human trauma saves the day for this satisfying, imminently readable novel. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"Tucker is a riveting storyteller whose book brims with a cathartic intelligence about the dark side of families and how we survive." -- People "Engrossing and suspenseful, Tucker's remarkable fourth novel unveils the motives behind the curious behavior and superfluous lies of unusually close-knit fraternal twins...[a] satisfying, imminently readable novel." -- *Publishers Weekly * "A compulsively readable story...nothing is as it appears in this suspenseful, well-crafted look at truth and betrayal...a haunting, harrowing story." -- Library Journal "A masterfully told story that delves deep into the human psyche and examines the frailty of the human mind after a tragedy and the powerful, lifelong impact of childhood memories." -- Booklist "Tucker excels at telling unexpected stories. In The Promised World, she hands the reader a solid marriage that is torn by tragedy...when the story's underlying turns are revealed, and everything comes together, it makes terrific sense." -- The Denver Post "A compelling must-read novel that is part mystery, part family drama, and wholly satisfying." -- Deseret News "The Promised World is a book that will appeal both to readers of literary fiction and those who enjoy psychological suspense. It's one of the standout novels of the year." -- The Chicago Sun-Times

In bestselling author Lisa Tucker's latest, a family discovers that it's only when the walls between the present and past crumble that the future can bloom. Together for over a decade, Kyra and David Winter are happier than they ever thought they could be. They have a comfortable home, stable careers, and a young son, Michael, who they love more than anything. Yet because of their complicated histories, Kyra and David have always feared that this domestic bliss couldn't last - that the life they created was destined to be disrupted. And on one perfectly average summer day, it is: Michael disappears from his own backyard.The only question is whose past has finally caught up with them: David feels sure that Michael was taken by his troubled ex-wife, while Kyra believes the kidnapper must be someone from her estranged family, someone she betrayed years ago.As the Winters embark on a journey of time and memory to find Michael, they will be forced to...

From Lisa Tucker, the critically acclaimed author of Once Upon a Day and The Song Reader, comes an extraordinary novel about the way we live now: the choices we make and the decisions we let life make for us.Matthew and Amelia were once in love and planning to raise a family together, but a decade later, they have become professional enemies. To Amelia, who has dedicated her life to medical ethics, Matthew's job as a high-powered pharmaceutical executive has turned him into a heartless person who doesn't care about anything but money. Now they're kept in balance only by Matthew's best and oldest friend, Ben, a rising science superstar -- and Amelia's new boyfriend.That balance begins to crumble one night when, coming home to his upscale Philadelphia loft, Matthew finds himself on a desolate bridge face-to-face with a boy screaming for help. Homeless for most of his life, ten-year-old Danny is as streetwise as he is world-weary, and his desperation to sa...