VIVIAN IN RED
AVAILABLE NOW from POLIS BOOKS
Famed Broadway producer Milo Short may be eighty-eight but that doesn’t stop him from going to the office every day. So when he steps out of his Upper West Side brownstone on one exceptionally hot morning, he’s not expecting to see the impossible: a woman from his life sixty years ago, cherry red lips, bright red hat, winking at him on a New York sidewalk, looking just as beautiful as she did back in 1934.
The sight causes him to suffer a stroke. And when he comes to, the renowned lyricist discovers he has lost the ability to communicate. Milo believes he must unravel his complicated history with Vivian Adair in order to win back his words. But he needs help—in the form of his granddaughter Eleanor— failed journalist and family misfit. Tapped to write her grandfather’s definitive biography, Eleanor must dig into Milo’s colorful past to discover the real story behind Milo’s greatest song Love Me, I Guess, and the mysterious woman who inspired an amazing life.
A sweeping love story, family mystery and historical drama set eighty years apart, Vivian in Red will swell your heart like a favorite song while illuminating Broadway like you’ve never seen before.
PRAISE & REVIEWS
“With Vivian in Red, Kristina Riggle proves herself a master storyteller. Her expertly drawn characters and New York City itself pulse with life in this stunning novel loaded with family secrets, passionate love, and the magic of Broadway. An absolute joy to read.”
—Tasha Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Tears of Pearl
“Vivian in Red is an enchanting swirl of love, family, history, theater, and an ode to what we leave behind and what we still have left to discover. Add Kristina Riggle to the list of historical fiction masters.”
—Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of In Twenty Years
“Readers will enjoy this blend of romance, historical fiction, and family drama, especially those with a fondness for New York in the Jazz Age.”
—Booklist
“A fantastic novel about how our personal history and those things we regret will come up. … If you love family mysteries and historical fiction, then you should definitely pick up Vivian in Red.” —Girls Just Reading
“An entrancing novel that gives readers insight into the Broadway theatrical world in its heyday. It also presents a nuanced picture of a large, unwieldy, but loving family and examines the mistakes people make in their youth that eventually come back to haunt them.” —Library Journal
KRISTINA’S PLAYLIST, INSPIRED BY VIVIAN IN RED
Timeless recordings of songs from the time period of the novel
You’re the Top, Sutton Foster & Colin Donnell
The Way You Look Tonight, Harry Connick Jr.
A Fine Romance, Stacey Kent
Just One of Those Things, Ella Fitzgerald & Buddy Bregman Orchestra
It’s De Lovely, Sarah Vaughan & Harold Mooney and His Orchestra
I Get a Kick Out of You, Tony Bennett
Heat Wave, Patti LuPone, John Mauceri & Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Embraceable You, Judy Garland
The Very Thought of You, Etta James
Let’s Do It, Eartha Kitt
Stardust, Nat King Cole
(It’s Only a) Paper Moon, Natalie Cole
I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Michael Bublé
As Time Goes By, Billie Holiday
Stormy Weather, Lena Horne
Night and Day, Frank Sinatra
Someone to Watch Over Me, Ella Fitzgerald
Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Barbra Streisand
Blue Skies, Rod Stewart
It Had to Be You, Bobby Darin
I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Diana Krall
We’re In The Money, Rosemary Clooney