Charlotte Randall — Within the kiss

Penguin 2002 Paperback, 255pp. A frustrated author is offered the chance for her beautiful daughter to become unimaginably rich and famous as a tennis player. What will she say? What if she has even greater ambitions of her own? Or if the desired outcome involves a pact with what, the Devil himself? Nothing in Charlotte Randall's wicked new novel is exactly as it seems. Who, for instance, is telling the story? Which of the players has the most to lose? Is the tennis coach more than human - or considerably less than divine? From the author of the prize winning novel The Curative, Within the Kiss is a hilarious and often erotic exploration of pride, and the art of telling lies. The Curative was joint runner-up for the Deutz Medal for fiction at the 2001 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Pages lightly tanning. (ISBN: 9780141006383). Good.