The Greek Villa

by Judith Gould

Recovering from her father's suicide and her boyfriend's betrayal, aspiring author Tracey Sullivan is offered a job as ghostwriter for a fading film star living in a Greek villa, which brings her face to face with scandal and dark secrets. Reprint.

Genres: Romance, Fiction

496 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

pseudonym of two authors: Nick Bienes and Rhea (pronounced “Ray”) Gallaher

Reviews

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though this isn't published by Harlequin, it's obvious this author has gone to the Harlequin school of Romance writing.

This is a formula Romantic Suspense novel. That much was obvious on page 1, when she has Tracey look in the mirror, a classic Romance trick for letting readers know what the heroine looks like. There is a big market for the genre and it takes skill to write to that formula, but it's not really my style.

[Ann Boytim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tracey Sullivan lives in Miami with her father. Tracey is engaged to a man who has now betrayed her trust by being engaged to another woman at the same time he is engaged to Tracey. Tracey';s father drives his car off a bridge in an apparent suicide and Tracey has to go through his possessions and finds pout her lie has been a lie. Tracey finds a birth certificate that shows a different name to her current name and a photograph of her mother who abandoned her. Tracey's father had some secrets and now Tracey needs to find out some answers and ends up on a Greek villa overlooking the Aegean Sea to become a ghost writer for a past beauty and actress.

[Matshidiso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tracey is a budding journalist and author who sets off to find answers in Greece. After various devastating events, she sets off in an attempt to find out the truth about her mother, but instead finds herself contending with the demanding and often delusional Urania, a former actress. Across the backdrop of the dreamy Santorini, a brief romance sprouts, rushing past the basic tenets of true love. Urania's character is overshadowed by that of her strange housekeeper and the questions that arise from the screams next door. As a romance mystery I was underwhelmed by the one-dimensional characters but hooked by the melodrama and gorgeous setting.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read a cheesy romantic suspense novel. This book had promise, but it seems like it was edited, and things were thrown in there to make it more formulaic. There are a lot of brand names dropped in, and even descriptions on how the characters apply make-up. (Who cares?) However, I loved the descriptions of Santorini, and even the friendship between Tracey and her best friend seemed authentic. But, whoa, the sex scenes seemed like they were written by a different person.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would have benefited from some decent proofreading. Ms. Gould is good at describing the scene but it bogged down the story line.

[Willa H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slooooow start, but after it got going it was good. :)

[Nancy Sebert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though this might have been the most cheesy book and predictable book I've ever read, I still finished it.

[Elaine White · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline was acceptable but there was no need to go into such detail of the sexual activities. That did not enhance the story.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The basic story line was good if you can get past the hundred of times designer clothes and makeup names were used and the adjectives that didn’t add to the story at all

[Margaret Harris · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you like a list of designers this one may be for you. I couldn’t finish it.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The general storyline of this story had merit, but sometimes the love/sex scenes took away from the intriguing storyline of Tracey and her quest to find herself settled into a career and the truth behind her parents.

The story started out in Miami with name dropping knockoff designer clothes and young 20 somethings out and about on dates and enjoying their beauty. Tracey is engaged to a local high-power family rich kid, but she finds out he is betraying her. After Tracey’s father dies, she shifts gears and is concerned with finding out more about her mother. A ghostwriting job leads her to Greece and closer to the truth.

Back in Miami, her best friend, Maribel, who is like a sister from another mother, helps her learn the truth about her father’s death, her ex-fiancé’s role in his money troubles and she works on getting revenge stateside while Tracey is in Greece. Some interesting adventures and chases in Greece among caves add to the mix.

I felt there was too much going on and sometimes the book read like a romance novel, women vs. women or mystery/adventure storyline depending on where you were. It is like the author could not decide which type of story to write and tried her hand at different types in one book.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another book by one of my favorite authors Judith Gould. I think what makes her books most desirable to me is that the main characters are on a quest to find not only love but also themselves which always gets mixed up in a little adventure and suspense. In this book the main character, Tracey, goes through a hard time of not only her loving father dying but also her to-be husband two-timing her. She decides to get away from her home and become a ghost writer for a famous actor who much resembles a picture of her mother she never knew. While Tracey and Urania, the famous actor whom Tracey is ghost writing for, both have a crush on their agent Tracey notices a woman in the next door "tower". During this time Tracey had always been trying to find a way to get dirt on her old fiance who may have caused her fathers death; this causes her fiance to put a murder on her tracks. When Tracey realizes that her mother is the lady locked in the tower beside her, and also Urania's sick sister, she also comes across her murder which her mother is killed by. All in all there is a lot happening in this book and their never seems to be a dull moment.. Defiantly a must read!

[Judy Killen]

Tracey never new her mother, she was raised by her father, no siblings. Her father dies and she finds documents he left behind that uncover clues to discovering who her mother was. She is off on a journey to follow the clues, but there is a twist at the end and her mother is not the woman she believes her to be. It's a romance and mystery combined and I enjoyed it. The most interesting character in the book was actually her best friend Maribel. I'll have to look for another book by her to see if she has written a book about her.

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tracey Sullivan is living the good life in Miami, although just betrayed by her boy friend. Now she finds that her father has committed suicide. Upon studying her father's papers, she discovers that her mother is not who she thought. Her biological mother is a famous movie star that had abandoned her.

It was an ok story and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenic descriptions.

[Celiaprice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it because I like any book set in Greece. So I liked the descriptions of Oia on Santorini. I wanted to move into the villa where the story is set. Story didn't really hold my attention very well. Way too over the top

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steamy romance and attempted murder--all set on an exotic Greek island, complete with steamy sex! Tracey travels to Greece to ghost write a famous actress's novel--and to try to discover the secret of her parentage. She never expects to find love there too!

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok book. It was pretty predictable but the sex was ok.

[Tracy Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy this one- still unanswered questions at completion. I did like the setting.

[Annetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lightweight holiday read .. Setting great ... Hard to believe the coincidences in the book .. Sex scenes very overdone

[Sandy Morgan]

Pretty good, hard to put down

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

Several paragraphs into this tripe I decided the author was being paid by the word. Bad, really really bad.

[Rebecca Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book. kept me going as it was very interesting.