The wife of a high-stakes international financier, Nell Calder finds her life shattered when her husband and child are killed and she is disfigured, events that transform her from a quiet, unassuming wife to a determined woman bent on revenge. 60,000 first printing. $60,000 ad/promo. When a hit man murders her daughter, the only thing that keeps Nell Calder alive is her thirst for revenge. Armed with a stunning new face and a body to match, she sets out to kill. What she doesn't count on is that her quest for vengeance will also result in her gaining a new reason to go on living. A forceful, enigmatic hero with a dangerous past and a mission of his own; a focused, determined, and refreshingly creative heroine who develops quite nicely; and a few interesting secondary characters join forces in a well-executed story that deftly provides chilling suspense without sacrificing a warm romance. Johansen is a seasoned romance writer particularly noted for her historicals (Dark Rider, Bantam, 1995). This is her first hardcover.?KR Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. In a successful hardcover debut, megaseller Johansen abandons the lush historical romances that have made her reputation and stakes out the proven market of Nora Roberts and Sidney Sheldon. Nell Calder is the Ugly Duckling--plump and plain, with mousy brown hair and a ``predilection for chocolate cake.'' Her world revolves around her four-year-old daughter, Jill, and not around her arriviste banker-husband Richard. Why then would a ruthless French drug lord target such a mouse for assassination at a glamorous party on a private Greek island? And why--as a bejeweled crowd cavorts below--would a psycho killer throw Nell off her balcony, shoot her husband, and knife her young daughter to death? That's what dark and sexy Nicholas Tanek wants to know. Nicholas- -gentle with women, deadly with enemies--is pursuing the drug lord, who murdered his mentor/surrogate father by infecting him with an unspeakably awful South American virus that slowly devours the organs of its victims. Interestingly enough, meantime, the fall has completely destroyed Nell's face. And so, in order that she doesn't ``live the rest of her life looking like a gargoyle,'' Nicholas takes her back to the States to plastic surgeon Joel Lieber, a genius who transforms her into Helen of Troy. Newly gorgeous and bent on vengeance, Nell persuades Nicholas to take her to his well-protected sheep ranch in Idaho (three electric fences) to teach her martial arts. Formerly a great flower arranger, the once ``ugly little mouse'' now turns into Bruce Lee. As Johansen quick-cuts back and forth between the good guys and the bad, in tried-and-true Sheldonesque style, the plot eventually delivers just deserts to all--thanks to inventive surprises and a large broad sword. Slick, knowing stuff. The myth of the ugly duckling is a seminal women's fantasy, exploited here in streamlined and product-tested style. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. From her award-winning first novel to her latest spectacular success, Iris Johansen has triumphed as a national bestseller and been heralded every time for her page-turning storytelling, powerful characterization, and dramatic plotting. But that was before.... The Ugly Duckling now reveals a new side to this consistently exceptional talent: she can also weave contemporary romantic suspense that will delight not only her millions of devoted fans but also thrill readers of Sandra Brown and Nora Roberts. In her hardcover debut novel, Iris Johansen pens the story of devoted mother Nell Calder, the perfect complement to her husband's high-wire career in international finance and the least likely target for assassination. Until the unimaginable happens, and Nell's life is shattered by someone willing to destroy all she loves in an effort to crush her spirit. When Nell emerges from her nightmare, it is as a woman transformed--literally--and burning with one purpose: vengeance--at any price. But she is not alone, for an enig-matic stranger is more than willing to make Nell's revenge his personal mission, too.... Relentlessly paced, wonderfully orchestrated, and glittering with the familiar yet brilliant touches readers will expect and relish, this is Iris Johansen at her gripping, commercial best. Copyright 1996 by I.J. Enterprises.