Nealy Coleman Diamond Clay Littletree returns to Blue Diamond Farms in Kentucky, where her life as a world-famous breeder and jockey began, only to find the farm she entrusted to her daughter, Emmie, has fallen into disrepair. Stricken with rheumatoid arthritis, Emmie goes off to rehab, while her mother assumes the reigns of management, and soon the women are in thorny conflict over the prospect of two new horses as well as differences of character. Emmie believes that she can never be her mother, an assessment Nealy agrees with, thinking that her daughter has never worked hard enough to achieve all that she has, while Nealy has had to scrape and claw for every success. Nealy also has her somewhat distant husband and son to worry about while all this is going on. The third installment of Michaels' Kentucky horse opera is billed as the conclusion, but there are enough lose ends for another title in this popular series. Patty Engelmann.

Prolific novelist Michaels completes the saga of the Coleman and Thornton families with this follow-up to Kentucky Rich and Kentucky Heat. She focuses on the relationship between Nealy Coleman, a one-time runaway unwed mother who became the indomitable horsewoman-proprietor of Blue Diamond Farms, and her daughter, Emmie. Nealy's prestigious stables were run with a perfectionist's firm hand until her recent marriage to lawyer Hatch Littletree left Emmie in charge. Emmie not only fails to keep up appearances at the farm but also chooses the wrong horse to train for the Derby, where there'll be a mammoth family reunion. Mother and daughter's lifelong rivalry suddenly becomes a struggle for control of the family estate. Emmie, who inherited her mother's strong will, is battling an undiagnosed illness and a secret fear of losing custody of her own child. When she finds out she has rheumatoid arthritis, she goes for an extended stay at the Rehabilitation Center in Las Vegas, founded by her aunt Fanny. Nealy abandons retirement to try and reestablish the reputation of her beloved stables. Another familial crisis surfaces when Willow, Nealy's ex-daughter-in-law, is wanted on a murder charge and demands that Hatch's law firm represent her. When Emmie returns to Kentucky, the power struggle turns ugly. There is, of course, a stunning Derby day climax. Long on action, colorful dialogue and coincidence but short on subtle characterizations and sense of place, the book will satisfy Michaels's many fans, if not win her new ones. Featured alternate selection of the Doubleday and Rhapsody Book Clubs, alternate selection of the Literary Guild; audio rights to Brilliance Audio. (Oct. 1) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved