Up Next
Nancy Star. Pocket Books, $23 (352pp) ISBN 978-0-671-00893-2
If you've ever wanted to kill someone responsible for a TV talk show, this book's for you. Star, a former entertainment-industry executive, ably combines mystery and romance with an insider's look at the high-pressure daytime talk-show circuit. May Morrison, newly promoted executive producer of Paula Live, is a competitive, stressed-out, divorced mother of two daughters with a dilapidated suburban house and a string of unsatisfactory au pairs. When James Barnett, producer of a rival program, is killed, May, who vied with Barnett for guests, tops the police list of suspects. After two more talk-show producers who gave May trouble are murdered, she is forced to clear herself before her ex-husband demands custody of the girls. Meanwhile, the cops investigating the cases are giving May fits: young, pushy Paradiso is determined to prove May guilty; the more experienced Paul O'Donnell thinks she's innocent but knows his judgment may be blinded by the sparks that fly between him and May. Star packs in too many subplots--legal entanglements, nagging mother, child-care disasters, suspicious co-workers--but keeps the reader guessing until the suspenseful climax. A promising relationship between May and Paul should enhance the sequel, especially if Star continues to portray the cutthroat world of daytime TV with the wit and verve evident here. (July)
Details
Reviewed on: 06/29/1998
Genre: Fiction
Mass Market Paperbound - 352 pages - 978-0-671-00894-9