Amazing Grace
Danielle Steel
Delacorte, Nov 2007, $27.00
ISBN: 9780385340236

On a warm San Franciscan night, Sarah Sloane the socialite wife of a financier hosts the black tie Littlest Angels Ball fund-raiser at the downtown Ritz-Carleton. The entertainment for this black-tie evening comes from award winning teenage rock star Melanie Free, who has problems with her martinet mom-agent. Covering the affair is Everett Carson, a former war correspondent who suffers from battle fatigue syndrome having seen too many atrocities. Attending as a rare outsider is Sister Maggie Kent whose flock is the homeless.

These four have nothing in common beyond the charity event until a deadly earthquake hammers the city. Sarah learns that her spouse has conducted nefarious illegal transactions that will cost the family more than just their reputation and place in high society as he may do time. Melanie has gained freedom from her mother and volunteers at the temporary shelter to help victims and makes non musical friends like Tom the archeology student. Maggie and Everett forge a friendship that both knows is love, but as they confide their feelings they must consider she is a nun.

AMAZING GRACE is an interesting look at the impact of a major disaster on the lives of various people especially the prime four described above. The story line provides a convincing description of people struggling with the calamity, but is nowhere near the depth of non-fiction accounts of Katrina or Burke's JESUS OUT TO SEA; nor does it use the World Series earthquake as a realistic anchor. Additionally, none of the main quartet seems fully developed with Everett and Maggie especially feeling one dimensional. Still Danielle Steel provides an entertaining look at the aftermath of a disaster.

Harriet Klausner