Where Love Has Gone

The name Harold Robbins brings to mind words such as "trash", "sleaze" and the like. I have only read a couple of his books and they have been of varying quality, from the awful Descent to Xanadu to the not-bad Spellbinder, and the fascinating Blood Royal (although that last one was written by Junius Podrug). I've heard that "Where Love Has Gone" is regarded as a roman a clef about the Lana Turner/Cheryl Crane/Johnny Stompanato murder scandal. That may be true; I'm sure Robbins was inspired by it when he wrote the book. But he still makes the characters and the story his own. The narrator is Luke Carey, now happily married and expecting a baby with his wife Elizabeth. He learns that his daughter, Danielle, from his previous marriage to rich sculptress Nora Hayden. Luke goes back to San Francisco to help his daughter, whom he hasn't seen in six years. Through flashbacks we get to know the characters and their history, and Luke and Nora's miserable marriage. Luke narrates most of the book, but there are scenes where he's not present that are told in third person. The present-time story works as a frame story for the flashbacks where the real meat of the story is. And Robbins has created a great, three dimensional character in Luke, and he shows a tenderness and insight into the human nature that I haven't noticed in the other books I've read by him. "Never Love a Stranger" is not a suspense novel, but it's still a page turner. Highly recommended. This deserves to still be in print.

Based unofficially on the then-Lana Turner/Johnny Stompanato trial that involved a knife and the daughter of the late movie star, this sordid tale follows the same track-type murder ploy (vengeance), but goes once step further by including the omitted denouement thought by all regarding the real-life case. Protogonist Luke Lurey is the ex-husband caught in the middle, whose ever-present guidance helps put the pieces back together. And what wicked pieces they end up being. Just like any scandal sheet type magazine of the time, this Harold Robbins outing is pulp fiction at its best. With its effervescent plot scheme and narratively swinging point of view, this "fictitious" delivery by the man who once has been hailed as a master storyteller is one addictive read that surely will please fans of the melodrama, and that, despite the toned-down sex scenes of its time (1962).-----Martin Boucher

Only the author of The Carpetbaggers could have written this explosive novel about the moment of truth for a group of people trapped between a disastrous past and a precarious future. You will meet Luke Carey, who woke up one night to the telephone call that altered his entire life; Nora, his first wife, who believed that her only responsibility was to her ever hungry body; Dani their daughter, fourteen and rudderless in a glittering adult world; Marguerite Cecilia Hayden, Dani's grandmother, who could manage two huge fortunes but not her amoral daughter; and Elizabeth, Luke's second wife, who took a gamble few women would willing to take. --from book's back cover

This Harold Robbins novel is one of the most beautifully written novels about humanity. The plot is rich and sad, with diverse, realistic characters and masterful dialogue. For those of you who love Mr. Robbins' style, this book is a must. For those who don't, this book is a change of pace from The Carpetbaggers and Dreams Die First, focusing more on the relationships between a broken family than on the rise of a character to great success. It is a story of love, desire, hate, and the passions that every man likes to dream of. Mr. Robbins has always known the magic recipe for brewing a blockbuster.