Without a Trace by Danielle Steel – a Review

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Description:
Charles Vincent seems to have it all—a beautiful wife, two successful children, and a well-paying career. Yet happiness remains out of reach. He is trapped in a loveless marriage and his job is simply a paycheck. But his life changes forever as he drives along the Normandy coast, heading to their lavish château for the weekend. In one terrifying moment, Charles falls asleep at the wheel and veers off the road, plunging thirty feet down the face of a rocky cliff.

Miraculously, Charles survives. After gathering the courage to climb to safety, he starts to walk—bruised, bloody, and desperate for help. In the dark of night, he happens upon a cabin where he meets the kind and beautiful Aude Saint-Martin. Their connection is instant, and as she nurses him back to health, Charles begins to discover the passion he’s been missing for so many years.

In the aftermath of the crash, Charles has a startling realization—he doesn’t have to go back. He could simply choose to disappear, to walk away from his old life. When his car is discovered, he’ll be presumed dead, washed away at sea. If he stays with Aude, he has a chance at a fuller, happier life he didn’t know was possible. It all seems too good to resist. But Aude has secrets of her own and before long their pasts catch up to them, threatening everything they have fought to build.

What would happen if you were given a chance to walk away from everything in your life and start over with a blank slate, and you had a split second to decide? In Without a Trace, Danielle Steel tells an irresistible story of the risks two people are willing to take in exchange for a second chance at the life they’ve always wanted.

Review:

Without a Trace by Danielle Steel is a standalone novel.  The story revolves around Charles Vincent, who is married, has two grown up successful children, and a high paying job; but he is currently trapped into an unhappy marriage.  His wife (Isabelle) never works, spends money, enjoys being considered wealthy and lives a glamorous life. Charles had been in the publishing field, making very good money, until he quits his job, and money becomes an issue for two years, with Charles borrowing money from his wife’s father; his wife constantly threatening a divorce.  Charles finally gets another job, making even more money, but he does not like the work and his boss. 

One night, Charles’s boss keeps him late, and when he drives along the coast to their lavish chateau for the weekend, he falls asleep at the wheel and goes over a cliff into the Ocean. Expecting his death during the fall, Charles manages to survive, and he is badly bruised as he desperately walks in the dark to find help.  He comes across a cabin, where he meets a kind woman, Aude, who nurses his wounds, and allows him to rest and sleep in her cabin.  In a very short period, Charles begins to discover the passions he never had, and both Aude and Charles fall in love.  Being presumed dead, Charles realizes that he can choose to disappear and have a happy life with Aude.  Everyone thinks he has died, with funeral services done, and lawyers working on his will.  Charles will learn that Aude has some secrets of her past, that will threaten their lives.

With many months having past, together Charles and Aude must decide which was the best way to go for their lives together. Do they disappear forever, or have Charles make amends to face his family?

Without a Trace was an interesting and different kind of story, with the entire focus on Charles’s unhappy life, at least until he meets the woman who will change his life forever.  What follows is an exciting and tense last third of the book, with Aude’s past coming back to haunt her; as well as everyone learning the truth about Charles’s disappearance.  Without a Trace was well written by Danielle Steel.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher