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Ruthless

by Danielle Steel

Power, grief, and a journalist’s assignment

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Power, grief, and a journalist’s assignment

Set between Manhattan and Saint Barts, the novel brings together two strands of wealth and public scrutiny. Shipping magnate John Randall Williams is grieving his wife and facing Christmas alone, while journalist Charlotte Ramsay travels to the island to profile elusive tech billionaire Ben Sharpe. Their paths intersect through a chance encounter, bringing Charlotte’s reporting into conflict with John’s reputation and private life. The setup links questions of power and image with bereavement, family estrangement, and the work of looking beyond a public façade.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in contemporary fiction centered on wealthy families and business power.
  • Readers who enjoy plots involving journalism, high-profile subjects, and competing private and public identities.
  • Readers looking for a story that combines bereavement and family tension with an island setting.

Themes

Wealth and powerJournalism and public imageGrief and family estrangementPrivate lives behind public reputations

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A journalist and the powerful man she is assigned to profile find themselves on a collision course in this powerful novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel.

Shipping magnate John Randall Williams is feared by his competitors, loathed by his only daughter, Gabby, and at sea after the recent death of his devoted wife. About to face his first Christmas alone, John meets a young woman named Lillith at a dinner party and is immediately drawn to her beauty. He invites her to share the holiday with him on his 350-foot sailboat in Saint Barts, and Lillith allows herself to be swept away.

Charlotte Ramsay, a senior editor at Vanity Fair, is on assignment in Saint Barts during the holidays. Known for her integrity as a journalist, she has come to the island to interview another powerful man: the elusive high-tech billionaire Ben Sharpe, whose luxury yacht is also anchored in the harbor. Though the first interview goes badly, she eventually agrees to have dinner with him and becomes intrigued by the real man behind the facade.

A chance encounter between the two couples sets the stage for a face-off between the Charlotte and John. He might have a well-earned reputation for ruthlessness, but when she is in pursuit of her story, she never backs down.

From the power corridors of Manhattan to the sunsets in Saint Barts, Danielle Steel masterfully pulls back the curtain on the private lives of the wealthy elite, where all is not always what it seems.
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