A national bestseller in hardcover, the 14th Joanne Kilbourn novel is as rich in human drama as all the series: Jo and Zack's young daughter's precocious artistic talent draws the attention of people who may not be at all what they seem. A treat for readers of Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series as well as Gail Bowen's devoted fans.
Jo and Zack are both proud and a little concerned when their youngest daughter Taylor -- whose birth mother was a brilliant but notorious artist -- has two paintings chosen for a major fund-raising auction. One they've seen; Taylor has kept the other, a portrait of a young male artist's model, in her studio. Their concern grows when it becomes clear (and quite public) that the young man is the lover of the older socialite who organized the fund-raiser.
Soon, an ugly web of infidelity, addiction, and manipulation seems to be weaving itself around the Kilbourn-Shreve family. Jo and Zack are doing their best to keep everyone safe, but when one of the principal players in the drama is found murdered, events begin to spiral, Taylor seems to be drifting further away, and their very darkest fears seem about to be realized.
The Gifted reconfirms Gail Bowen's incomparable ability to weave the domestic with the dramatic, and to explore the dark side of human nature while keeping the life-affirming pillars of family and friendship standing.

Gail Bowen’s bestselling mystery series featuring Joanne Kilbourn will number an even dozen titles with the publication of The Nesting Dolls in August 2010. The first six books in the series have appeared as made-for-television movies with world-wide distribution. Winner of both the Arthur Ellis Best Novel Award and the Derrick Murdoch Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Crime Writers of Canada, in 2008 Bowen was named ’Canada’s Best Mystery Novelist’ by Reader’s Digest. She was selected as oneof "The 100 Most Popular Contemporary Mystery Authors" for an upcoming Library Unlimited reference book.

Gail Bowen's profile page

• "Bowen uses [her] sturdy building blocks with skill and inspiration. . . . " - Publishers Weekly
• "Powerful, intimate and memorable. . . . Told with frank grace and insight." - Hamilton Spectator
• "[With] deftly drawn characters, unusual twists and turns of plot, plenty of authentic details. . . . Confirm[s] Bowen's growing reputation as 'the queen of Canadian crime fiction.'" - Winnipeg Free Press
• "Bowen allows all the female characters in the book their shining, complicated moments." - National Post
• "There's a really nice twist at the end. . . . Stay tuned." - Margaret Cannon, in the Globe and Mail