8/19/2022

Perfect Harmony by Barbara Wood

My first Barbara Wood novel. I found it in a bookstore in the South of Germany. The German edition looks quite different from the English edition. Nonetheless, the summary sounded so thrilling, that I simply had to have it. And what a great reading pleasure it was. No other Barbara Wood book has left me in such s thrilled mood as this one. If you don´t know the author´s books yet, start with this one. In my opinion one of her best books.

Perfect Harmony

by Barbara Wood
Publisher Turner on June 1, 2015
Genre Novel
Pages 396
Format Paperback
Source Purchased
Goodreads
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At the heart of the conspiracy.

For many generations, the women of the Lee family have produced herbal medicines in the Chinese tradition. Charlotte has now taken over the company and is successfully continuing on the family path. But suddenly the young businesswoman must answer for the fact that three people were allegedly killed by her products. In the midst of these horrifying allegations, Charlotte has an accident that she narrowly escapes with her life - but was it really an accident?

Story

Charlotte Lee, an American of Chinese descent, and her family's history spanning several generations from Singapore to the United States is in trouble. Her company Harmony House uses the latest technology to produce herbal natural remedies based on old Chinese recipes. One evening, Desmond Barclay, the company's chief marketing officer, and board member. tells Charlotte that there has been a third victim. Almost at the same time, Charlotte is confronted with the brutal accusation of being the murderer of these three people. These died after taking or using Harmony House products. When she accidentally escapes a fatal accident, a stranger asks her via e-mail to publicly admit Harmony House's guilt for the three deaths, and her friends get caught up in mysterious incidents, Charlotte decides to ask Jonathan Sutherland for help. Jonathan, a Scotsman of American descent, is a technical security consultant and her onetime childhood sweetheart. Courageously and resolutely she now fights together with him for the reputation of her company, to find the real murderer, and to finally realize the fulfillment of a long-cherished dream. As the story unfolds, Charlotte and Jonathan find themselves in mortal danger, and Charlotte not only has to realize that she still loves him, but that there are things in their family that aren't what she thought they were.

Style

Thanks to Barbara Wood's extensive knowledge, the novel has credibility and authenticity that I found very enjoyable reading it. At no point where it was about technical know-how, the knowledge of Chinese healing arts, or the customs and customs of China did I feel taught. On the contrary. It was extremely interesting and informative at the same time. In the passages where Charlotte conducts a dialogue with the stranger via e-mail, I often get a queasy feeling. These short lines not only caught my eye as I read them, but they also seemed menacing and cold to me. When I read such a passage for the first time, I was a bit irritated and faltered for a moment. But that was the only time.

Characters

Each character that is important for the course of the story is multi-layered and shows a certain character trait. While reading, I was able to understand very well why some of the characters acted, spoke, or felt the way they did and not differently. Barbara Wood skillfully plays with the multifaceted contrasts within the individual characters and has brilliantly created characters full of life and depth, some of which are full of surprises.

Conclusion

Exciting reading pleasure, not only for Barbara Wood fans. With her unmistakably clear style, the author has once again succeeded in conjuring up a varied, captivating, and exciting story on paper. Fascinatingly written, the novel not only gripped me emotionally, but the novel also gave me wonderful and at times even tingling reading pleasure.

Happy reading

Barbara Wood

Barbara Wood was born on 30 January 1947 in Warrington, Lancashire, England, UK. Together with her parents and older brother, she immigrated to the United States. She grew up in Southern California and attended Los Angeles Schools. After High School, Barbara attended the University of California at Santa Barbara but left to train as a surgical technician. During this time, Barbara held numerous jobs, before she sold her first novel in 1976. A few years prior, Barbara met her husband, George. She is an international bestselling author with books translated into over 30 languages. In the German-speaking world alone, the total circulation of her novels is well over 14 million. The reader is transported to exotic countries that Barbara has meticulously researched to provide her fans with a true sense of the culture and history relevant to each story. In 2002 she was awarded the Corine Prize for her novel “Sacred Ground”.

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