April 30, 2012
Tallie Jones is a wildly successful Hollywood director with a loving college-aged daughter, Max, and a devoted boyfriend/producer, Hunt. Her assistant, Brigitte, also happens to be her best friend. However, in the course of a routine audit, it becomes clear that Tallie's fortune is being embezzled by someone close to her. As the FBI investigates, she learns that she's also being cheated on. In order to trap the people responsible, she must keep them closer than ever, but by then it may cost someone their life. Steele's newest (after 44 Charles Street) is as absurd as her previous novels; the glitzy world of Hollywood privilege and cardboard characters offers little in the way of suspense, surprise, or nuance. Existing fans may enjoy it but there's nothing here that would win over new readers.
February 1, 2012
Eccentric movie director falls prey to a sociopath sidekick and a feckless producer/lover in Steel's methodical Hollywood morality tale. Though a wildly successful director of blockbusters, Tallie Jones is the opposite of glamorous: Most of the time she wears her uncombed blond hair in disheveled dreads, her wardrobe is shabby, not shabby-chic, and she has an unfashionable, ill-advised tan. Her Bel Air mansion is functional, not lavish, and her live-in lover and business partner, Hunt, actually uses the high-end kitchen, preparing gourmet meals for Tallie after a long day of shooting. Tallie's assistant and long-time best friend Brigitte, a trust-fund baby, monopolizes the glitz department: Rodeo Drive merchants happily bestow upon her free furs, jewelry and designer handbags. But Tallie's close-knit support group is about to unravel. A potential investor in her next film wants to audit her books. Tallie's accountant, 60ish Victor (whose plight with a gold-digging young wife provides a poignant subplot, sadly underdeveloped), complies. But how could meticulous Victor have overlooked monthly cash withdrawals of approximately $25,000 from Tallie's accounts? Tallie's bills are all handled (primarily by Brigitte) using checks or credit cards. Hunt and Brigitte are above suspicion--both have their own money and no overt motive to steal. Perplexed, Tallie hires a private eye, and soon her worst fears are confirmed: Hunt and Brigitte are not perfect. Not only was Hunt cheating on her with Brigitte for three years, for the last year he's consorted with a new mistress, who's now pregnant with his child. The FBI is called in, and handsome, down-to-earth, widowed agent Jim Kingston uncovers the full horror. The plot thickens, but never quickens: As Tallie copes with betrayals, the narrative creeps along, slowed by the characters' repetitious musings over what could, and then did, go wrong.Dodges drama at every turn.
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August 27, 2012
Top Hollywood director Tallie Jones is in the middle of making her next blockbuster with her significant other, producer Hunter Lloydâand with the indispensable aid of her personal assistant, Brigitte Parker, everything seems to be going well. But an unexpected audit shows that Tallie is missing thousands of dollars, and an investigation opens doors to deceptions and betrayals she never dreamed possible. In this audio edition narrator Renee Raudman provides compelling narration and bestows each character with something extra, adding to their depth and enhancing the prose. Raudman's portrayals are broad and distinct, and listeners will have no trouble distinguishing between the characters. If the story itself is somewhat predictable or repetitive, Raudman's reading proves a satisfying listenâand one that Steel's fans will surely appreciate. A Delacorte hardcover.