The Siren, KATHERINE JOHN [positive books to read .txt] 📗

banks of purple blossoms. I took her with me to the Louvre, where we lingered in front of the enigmatic Mona Lisa and the seductive Bathsheba at Her Bath, then to the Jardin des Tuileries, where we enjoyed a baguette next to a statue of a nude nymph with her dog. Along the wide Champ de Mars, we FaceTimed with Stella and her adorable daughter from a bench beneath a towering linden tree.

By the time the sun begins its dive toward the horizon, my feet are sore from all the walking and my shoulders are sunburned, but my heart is a little bit lighter. Saying a silent prayer for her spirit to find peace, I sprinkle the remainder of her ashes over a bed of colorful violets in the shade of the Eiffel Tower and return the urn to my bag.

It’s been nearly two years since I killed Cole. For months afterward I was a nervous wreck, torn apart by pangs of conscience over taking a life, mixed with the fear that I’d be caught. But Stella, Taylor, and especially Jackson stood by me, reminding me persistently that I’d done the right thing. My apprehension peaked the following fall, when Cole’s badly damaged boat was discovered deep beneath the sea miles off shore. But the alibi we provided one another—of helping Taylor through a miscarriage in the wine cellar during the storm—was never questioned. No foul play was ever suspected, and his body was never recovered. It won’t be, they say. Eventually I realized that if Jackson could forgive me for killing his father, I had to forgive myself.

The soft evening is awash in muted apricot and rose as I hurry past the massive iron Tower and onto the Pont d’léna, crowded with Parisians whiling away the last minutes of the long day. I spy Jackson halfway across the bridge, looking out over the passing boats on the river that reflects the brilliant sky in swirls and ripples, the Jardins du Trocadéro behind him. My heart swells with the realization that he is Iris’s last gift to me; after all the darkness, we are each a ray of light for the other.

Sensing my presence, he turns. “Everything okay?” he asks.

I close my eyes as he brushes his thumb across my cheek, wiping away an errant tear. “Better than okay.” I can’t help but laugh at myself; I’ve become such a softy. “They’re happy tears.”

He wraps me in his arms and presses his lips to mine, and everything stops, the same way it does every time he kisses me. As the sun dips beneath the horizon over the Seine, I’m certain that somehow, somewhere my mother is smiling, knowing that her little girl is going to be okay.

Acknowledgments

So much goes into producing a book, and I am forever grateful to have the support of such a fantabulous team.

First and always, to my family: my husband, Alex, the best life partner a girl could ask for; my wonderful parents; and my adorable little girls, who remind me daily of what’s truly important.

To my supercalifragilistic agent, Sarah Bedingfield, my rock and my guiding light, without whom there would be no books, and to the whole gang at Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency.

To the unparalleled team at Grand Central Publishing, all of whom are such a delight to work with: my fantastic editor, Karen Kosztolnyik, for making this book the best it can be, and her terrific editorial assistant, Rachael Kelly; the superb Brian McLendon and Tiffany Porcelli in marketing; Andy Dodds and Matthew Ballast in publicity; and Albert Tang and Lynn Buckley for the gorgeous cover art. Additionally a huge thanks to Ben Sevier, Karen Torres, Alison Lazarus, Ali Cutrone, Nancy Wiese, Joelle Dieu, Kristen Lemire, Jeff Holt, Penina Lopez, and Tricia Tamburr, all of whom have worked so hard to usher this book into the world. I am so fortunate to work with all of you!

Before I wrote books, I worked in the film industry for many years as an actress, producer, director, and screenwriter, and this book draws on those experiences. As Taylor notes, a set can be a wonderful place to work if you’re working with the right people, and I had the good fortune of working with many incredible artists and filmmakers over the years. So I’d like to say thank you to all of the dreamers and creators whose blood, sweat, and tears go into the content that entertains and inspires us every day. Keep dreaming and keep creating! We need artists now more than ever.

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About the Author

Katherine St. John is a native of Mississippi, a graduate of the University of Southern California, and the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Lion’s Den. When she’s not writing, she can be found hiking or on the beach with a good book. Katherine currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children.

The Siren

Reading Group Guide

Throughout the novel, the author comments on vanity, body positivity, and the traditionally fraught connection between image and self-worth. Discuss the double standards women face when it comes to physical appearance and aging, especially in a male-dominated, beauty-obsessed environment like Hollywood.

What do you think it takes to build a career in entertainment? Stamina? Charisma? Perseverance? Knowing the immense pressures actors face to look and behave a certain way, how do Stella’s struggles with substance abuse reflect the real-life consequences of stardom?

Taylor was recruited to produce The Siren because Cole’s media company, Power Pictures, was criticized for being too much of a “boy’s club,” yet she’s still certain she was intentionally left out of Cole’s fishing trip because of her “extra X chromosome.” Based on the reckoning the entertainment industry faced during #MeToo, how do you think expectations regarding safety and pay equity have changed on movie sets? How do you hope other industries have changed as a whole?

In a conversation