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The Starlet by Mary McNamara
Chick Lit Review

The Starlet by Mary McNamara

In Mary McNamara’s debut novel, Oscar Season, readers were introduced to Juliette Greyson. Juliette was the head of PR at the Pinnacle Hotel in Los Angeles, dealing with the rich and famous on a daily basis. After the murder of her cheating ex-husband, Juliette flees to Florence for a break from the LA lifestyle, and that is were The Starlet picks up.
Juliette saves troubled actress Mercy Talbot (think Lindsay Lohan) from diving into a fountain and whisks her away to her Italian estate she shares with cousin Gabriel. Upon arrival to Cerreta, Gabriel is outraged Juliette would bring a drug riddled celebrity on the premises. Gabriel and Juliette are both recovering addicts, and Gabriel does not have the patience to deal with Mercy and her Hollywood ways. The story begins to change when Juliette realizes that someone else may be supplying Mercy with the drugs, that someone being Mercy’s own overbearing mother. After the mysterious death of Mercy’s former co-star, the plot intensifies when another death on set occurs. Juliette is determined to find the culprit, and help save Mercy from succumbing to death from addiction at such a young age.
Even though I had not read Oscar Season previously, The Starlet easily stood its ground alone. The tantalizing pull of celebrities and their over-the-top lifestyles mixed in with drugs, sex, and murder makes this mystery irresistible to put down. I loved Italy as the setting, the beautiful images along with the serene atmosphere of Cerreta made the whole drug/murder scandal that much more scandalous. The love stories that were threaded throughout seemed to get a little confusing, but I guess that is life of the rich and famous. I definitely recommend The Starlet and look forward to reading more novels from Mary McNamara.
Rating: 4/5

August 6, 2010
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Author Profile: Mary McNamara
Chick Lit Authors

Author Profile: Mary McNamara

Author Name: Mary McNamara

Website: http://www.regal-literary.com/client_sites/marymcnamara/index.html
Bio: Mary was born in the suburbs of Baltimore, but spent most of her childhood growing up in the rural town of Westminster. Knowing she always wanted to write, Mary attended the University of Missouri, majoring in journalism with a minor in women’s studies. She worked for Ms. Magazine for a few years before moving to Knoxville, Tennessee and working for a communications company, then moved to Los Angeles to write for the LA Times.
Currently: Mary currently works as a television critic for the LA Times, along with working on her fiction novels.
Titles: Oscar Season and The Starlet.

August 4, 2010
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In My Mailbox: Week of June 6th
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In My Mailbox: Week of June 6th

In My Mailbox: Week of June 6, 2010

Title: EyeLeash: A Blog Novel
Author: Jess C Scott
Received: From Jess C Scott
Synopsis: Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her blog, she vents about “fitting in” a superficial world. Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan: the former geek, who’s morphed into a delicious songwriter-musician. EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the intricate drama in two youths’ relentless search for themselves–and what’s really in their hearts.

Title: The Starlet
Author: Mary McNamara
Received: From Regal Literary
Synopsis: It’s a not-so-well-respected rule in Hollywood that what happens on location stays on location. But when a hot young leading man winds up dead in his Rome hotel room, his costar’s life is about to go off the rails in a very public way—even by celeb standards.
At the tender age of twenty-three, Mercy Talbot has won an Oscar, battled addiction, wrecked more than her share of cars, and burned down her house. Her look-alike mother keeps her on a tight leash (and fueled with an endless supply of OxyContin and cocaine) and her producers demand a grueling schedule. By the time she stumbles across Juliette Greyson, a Hollywood insider on a much-needed vacation, Mercy is surrounded by photographers and about to emerge drunk, high, and naked from a public fountain. Whisking her away to an idyllic Tuscan ‘retreat,’ Juliette is about to discover another rule of Hollywood: wherever the starlet may go, the drama will follow.

June 6, 2010
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