One Fifth Avenue

July 28, 2008
Sex in the City
goes middle-aged, mordant and slapstick in Bushnell's chronicle of writers, actors and Wall Street whizzes clashing at One Fifth Avenue, a Greenwich Village art deco jewel crammed with regal rich, tarty upstarts and misguided lovers. When a “Queen of Society” dies, a vicious scramble for her penthouse apartment ensues, and it's attorney Annalisa and her hedge-funder husband, Paul Rice, who land the palatial pad, roiling the building's rivalries. There's Billy Litchfield, an art dealer who slobbers over the wealthy; strivers Mindy and James Gooch, and their tech-savvy 13-year-old Sam, the most hilariously bitter (and strangely successful) family in the building; gossip columnist Enid Merle and her screenwriter nephew, Philip Oakland, who struggle to uphold traditions and their souls; actress Schiffer Diamond, who lands a hit TV series, and her old love; and Lola Fabrikant, a cunning Atlanta gold digger whose greatest ambition is to become Carrie Bradshaw. Here are bloggers and bullies, misfits and misanthropes, dear hearts and black-hearts, dogfights and catty squalls spun into a darkly humorous chick-lit saga.

September 1, 2008
Bushnell most definitely had a good summer. The movie version of "Sex and the City" was a hit, and the NBC drama based on her last novel, "Lipstick Jungle", is renewed for a second season. Just in time for fall, she presents an entertaining new novel. Female friendship is usually Bushnell's uniting theme, but, here, it's a landmark building and a beyond-fashionable address that connects the myriad characters introduced: an aging but still beautiful actress named Schiffer Diamond; Enid, a powerful gossip columnist; Annalisa, a former lawyer and now the hesitant wife of a hedge-fund manager; Lola, an obnoxious young social climber determined to manipulate her way to the top of society; and Mindy, the owner of the building's least glamorous apartment yet head of the building's board. Bushnell is at her best herefrothy and fun but also absolutely sharp. There are even a few sly references to Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big thrown in for good measure. Recommended for all public libraries.Andrea Y. Griffith, Loma Linda Univ. Libs., CA

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2008
It was part of the pain of living in Manhattan, this overwhelming ache for prime real estate, writes Bushnell in her firstnovelsince Lipstick Jungle (2005). Two events throw the inhabitants of One Fifth Avenue, Manhattans ritziest address, into a tizzy: the return of beautiful actress Schiffer Diamond, and the death ofLouise Houghton, who owned the buildings swankiest apartment. Gossip columnist Enid Merle and her dashing nephew Philip Oakland think Louises now-availablethree-story apartment should be divided up, while ambitious Mindy Gooch, whose husbandis on the cusp of literary stardom, wants it sold to a high bidder. Mindy gets her way, and nouveau riche couple Paul and Annalisasnap it upfor $15 million. But when Mindy refuses to let Paul install a wall-unit air conditioner, he declares war, inciting a conflict that draws in all the residents of the building. Other charactersinclude a schemingLolita type who tries to sleep her way into One Fifth and a penniless male socialite who has aspired to One Fifth for decades. Devotees of Bushnells megahitSex in the Cityandfans of New Yorkaimed satirewill enjoy this scathing alls-fair-in-real-estate novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

November 24, 2008
Bushnell's latest offering tells the tale of a group of female Manhattanites who live out, or dream of living out, their fantasies in the Art Deco tower of One Fifth Avenue. The prose is reminiscent of the typical Bushnell drawl, which became so popular in Sex and the City
. Although the writing is somewhat familiar, narrator Donna Murphy is refreshing in her inspired reading. Murphy displays a talent for interpreting characters on the page and giving them rich, textured voices and personalities that make listening a sheer pleasure. Though the story lacks originality, Murphy's performance brings a certain theatrical atmosphere to the tale, making it an enjoyable, visual listen. A Hyperion hardcover (Reviews, July 28).