The Starlet

The Starlet

Author:  Mary McNamara

Publication Date:  June 8, 2010

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Trade Paperbacks

Donated By:  Regal Literary, Inc. 

When Mercy Talbot, strung out on any number of controlled substances, jumps from the top of King Triton into a famous Roman fountain, paparazzi capture it all.  Only 23, Mercy has been a star since childhood, and the world has watched her many breakdowns and failed rehab stints. Now co-star and lover Lloyd Watson is dead in an “accident” —shutting down production on their film and sending Mercy back to the drugs.

Juliette Greyson rescues the sodden young actress from the fountain. PR head for  a posh L.A. hotel, Juliette is well versed in the care and feeding of high-strung celebrities.  Having survived her own dissolute phase,  she is sympathetic to Mercy’s plight, and whisks her away to Cerreta, the two-hundred acre family farm near Siena that she and her cousin, Gabe, inherited.

But when Juliette’s ex-lover, fabulous (and determinedly not aging) movie star Michael O’Connor joins the cast, shooting resumes, and Juliette’s vain attempt to keep Hollywood away crumbles like fresh biscotti.  The entire production moves from Rome to Siena, and entangled relationships and heightened emotions overrun idyllic Cerreta’s bucolic charms.  Then a police detective arrives from Rome to say they are reopening the investigation into Lloyd Watson’s death…

Equal parts Jackie Collins, Michael Tolkin and Sue Grafton, The Starlet is an insider’s account of life on a film set – complete with an aging rock star rehab guru, a sexy young producer, locals clamoring to meet the stars, and one very messed up actress.  Throw murder and a massive drug operation into the mix and you have every tabloid’s dream come true.

BONUS:

Regal Literary is offering a contest open to everyone with these fabulous prizes:

• A weekend getaway in Los Angeles, complete with two nights at the Four Seasons, a four-star lunch at the Beverly Hills hotel, a guided tour of Hollywood, and more!
• Four days and three nights in the rolling Tuscan countryside at Spannocchia, Italy, for you and a companion, half price tickets for two from New York to Rome, and more!
• 100 signed copies of The Starlet

To enter the contest, please visit http://www.marymcnamara.com/starletcontest.html.

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 Tour Participants


1.  Kari  - done
2.  Carol  - MIA
3.  Crystal - DNF

Reviews ~

Kari