cover image Malibu 90265

Malibu 90265

Linda Lane. William Morrow & Company, $18.95 (309pp) ISBN 978-0-688-08038-9

When underage and well-sequestered Bonnie Louise decides to hop a plane to California and surprise her wealthy lover, film kingpin B. J. McClintock, the collision of McClintock's secret and public lives almost destroys his empire and family. McClintock's fascination with virgins is only an aperitif in this smorgasbord of celebrities' (and celebrity offspring's) dark secrets and threatened exposure: daughter Savannah McClintock risks bad press via a steamy lesbian affair with a Brazilian pop singer; Malibu neighbor Bentine Devorac, a famous director's daughter, finds post-divorce solace with a supermarket pickup whose specialty is simulated rape; celebrity doc Morton Shipp botches cosmetic surgery and turns women's dreams into nightmares. Yet the business of filmmaking goes on, with the project Blue Moon providing a vehicle for McClintock's level-headed assistant, Lara Miller, to earn a position of power whilst continuing her quest for the right guy. Although the Malibu locale seems more like a seaside pit stop with action largely elsewhere, the reward for enduring predictable set-pieces is enough eyebrow-raising scenes to satisfy the most jaded voyeur. (July)