It's been decades since I've read anything by Danielle Steele. Considering the speed at which she writes, I've been avoiding her, thinking they'd be too repetitive. But no, this was a clever plot and I felt engaged throughout. I'll have to read a few more now until I start recognizing similarities of plots and characters from one book to the next, at which point I generally get bored. ( )

Encaramada en una colina con vistas a San Francisco, la casa era magnífica, construida en 1923 por un hombre rico para la mujer que adoraba. Por ella y por esta casa, no repararía en gastos ni pasaría por alto ningún detalle, desde los interminables suelos de mármol hasta las resplandecientes lámparas de araña. Casi un siglo después, con la otrora gran casa ahora en mal estado, una mujer joven camina por sus habitaciones vacías. Sarah Anderson, una abogada de patrimonio perfectamente sensata, está a punto de hacer algo totalmente fuera de lugar. Un cliente anciano ha muerto y le ha dejado dos regalos. Se trata de una herencia generosa. El otro, un mensaje impagable: usar su dinero para algo maravilloso, algo atrevido. Y en esta vieja casa, rodeada de una grandeza que se desmorona, Sarah sabe exactamente lo que es.

Teresa Calvet

Stanley is a 99 year old who lives alone (with round the clock nurses) in a house built in the 1920's. Sarah, 38, is Stanley's lawyer. He keeps telling her to enjoy life. After Stanley's death, Sarah contacts the 19 heirs to Stanley's huge fortune. Unbeknownst to Sarah, a codicil was also read at the reading of the will giving Sarah $750,000.
Sarah takes Stanley's advice and does do something with the money that was bequeathed to her. She decides to buy Stanley's house. While fixing up the mansion, Sarah learns the secrets of the house and that this house is tied to her family....full circle. ( )

I read hundreds of books a year...been a book junkie for 56 years. That said, believe it or not, this is my very first Danielle Steel novel. Strange, right???? I have reservations about authors who spit out books as often as I do my laundry. I finally decided to give her a chance, and I have no regrets. I enjoyed the story. There's nothing groundbreaking about it, it was a smoothe, sweet read and I did enjoy getting to know the characters. I believe I will read some more of Danielle's work. ( )