Put on your red hats and plenty of attitude, and spend a hilarious, heartwarming read with five fabulous women. . . . The Red Hat Club is back, in rare form. When Pru Bonner, black sheep of the group, falls off the wagon so hard it shakes Diane, Linda, SuSu, Teeny, and Georgia's world, "the girls" stage a hilarious kidnapping in Vegas to help their childhood friend clean up her act. As the women confront their pasts along with their hazardous adventure, they discover surprising strength in themselves and their friendships. Laughter is spiced with secrets, surprises, and pitfalls aplenty, including a midlife pregnancy test, a fight for life, the perils of Internet dating, an all-expense-paid plastic surgery cruise, and a surprise celebration that proves it's never too late for love. As in The Red Hat Club , these irrepressible heroines face the challenges of friendship in sickness and in health, with heart and indomitable humor. So join the Red Hat Club and remember that age is all in your head, calories should always be in chewable form (Diet Coke with chocolate éclairs!), and that when all else fails, your Red Hat Club will see you through. (This novel has not been authorized or endorsed by the Red Hat Society.) If you think all Red Hat Club members are sweet old ladies with a penchant for purple frocks and crimson chapeaus, think again. Smith's bunch of Buckhead babes--Georgia, Diane, Linda, SuSu, and Teeny--may all be women of a "certain age," but that doesn't mean they have to act like it. They're feisty, and sexy, and loyal to a fault, so when there's trouble within the group, they rally like the Three Musketeers on steroids. Of course, it helps when one of the members is a multimillionaire, able to spare no expense when it comes to problem solving. And if that means firing up the corporate jet to launch a drug intervention in Vegas, or booking an ocean liner for a monthlong plastic surgery cruise, then that's what the Red Hats do. If you're willing to suspend disbelief and go along for the joy ride, then hitting the road with Smith's lovable ladies is a riotous, raucous, roller-coaster adventure. Carol Haggas Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "Engaging flashbacks help tell this charming story. Readers who enjoy friendship-themed books … will definitely go for this, too." -- Library Journal “Smith fans know that when 50-something females don red hats for lunch at Atlanta’s Swan Coach House tearoom, mayhem ensues.” -- Publishers Weekly "A spicy ... engaging ode to the lasting bonds of southern sisterhood and life-begins-at-50 optimism … will melt the most cynical of Yankee hearts." -- Kirkus Reviews Baby-boomer Haywood Smith (born Anne Haywood Pritchett) grew up as one of five children in North Atlanta, Georgia. Inspired by Jenny Joseph's free-spirited poem "Warning," Haywood writes lighthearted coming-of-middle-age tributes to the Jilted Generation of women who, like she, have emerged victorious through divorce, teenaged children, menopause, the Internet, tennis elbow, spreading waistlines, nothing but tacky clothes in the stores, and countless other modern tribulations.