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Amazing to think that Journey is Danielle Steel's 50th novel. What's even more amazing is the high standard she has maintained throughout all her books: when an author is this prolific, there is usually a falling off in inspiration, but Steel seems able to add new elements to each book that keep the level of invention fresh. Journey uses elements familiar from earlier Steel best-sellers, but manages a totally fresh spin on the private problems of a very public marriage. Madeleine and Jack Hunter are one of Washington's glittering couples. Jack is head of a TV network, while Maddy is an award-winning anchorwoman. All around people regard them as a golden couple: he advising the president on media issues, she at the top of the tree in her profession. Needless to say, the relationship we are shown behind closed doors in their lavish Georgetown home is far more troubled than the public ever sees. For as Maddy enjoys more and more career success, Jack's resentment and desire for control grows daily, and her life becomes hell in this fracturing marriage. Steel manages, as always, to convey character in concise paragraphs: The diamond studs and her eight-carat engagement ring were her prize possessions. Not bad for a kid from a trailer park in Chattanooga, she often admitted to him, and he called her "poor white trash" when he wanted to really tease her. It was obvious that he thought calling her that was funny... When Maddy joins the president's wife in the latter's newly formed commission on violence against women, the grim stories she hears from other terrified wives starts her on a journey which will help her break the cycle of fear she is living through. Steel makes this situation resonant with a really strong emotional impact, and the dark marriage is painted with the kind of skill we have come to expect from her. When Bill Alexander, a high-flying scholar and diplomat, enters the narrative and realises what is happening in Maddy's marriage, the story is taken to a powerful new level, with their growing affection treated intelligently and sympathetically. --Barry Forshaw
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