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A Secret Life
The gripping story of woman forced to fight for the truth in a competitive world; When Suzannah Piper, TV star and media personality, is killed in a tragic car accident, many publicly grieve but few genuinely mourn. For Suzannah chose to live her life in the spotlight, and real friends are scarce in the glittering but shallow celebrity world. But investigative journalist Lucy Strong, one of the few people who knew the real Suzannah, mourns her. When, a decade ago, Lucy arrived in London a naive, insecure young girl in search of a TV career, it was Suzannah who saw her intelligence and nurtured it. It was Suzannah who taught her to play the media game. And it was Suzannah who helped Lucy to achieve her dream. Now, after her death, Lucy suddenly gets her chance to repay Suzannah, for crucial things about the night of her death don't add up. But as Lucy starts to discover the secret life that Suzannah kept from even her, she realises that Suzannah was playing a dangerous game. And soon her own life is under threat...
- GenresFiction
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 12, 2024
I was surprised to find that Esther Rantzen has written a book. I found this one in a charity shop and quickly grabbed it to read.
The premise of the story is that Suzannah Piper a tv star is killed . Lucy String an investigative reporter who knew her well , realises that it was murder not an accident . Her life then becomes in danger as she discovers that Suzannah had a secret life that nobody knew about.
It's been a slow read , but Lucy has been a good character . The culprit was a surprise for me , a 4 ⭐️ read .
The premise of the story is that Suzannah Piper a tv star is killed . Lucy String an investigative reporter who knew her well , realises that it was murder not an accident . Her life then becomes in danger as she discovers that Suzannah had a secret life that nobody knew about.
It's been a slow read , but Lucy has been a good character . The culprit was a surprise for me , a 4 ⭐️ read .
November 23, 2016
This book is billed as a thriller and a whodunit and fails miserably on both counts.
There is no mystery as to what happened to Suzannah Piper, the heroine doesn't even bother to investigate what went on and only blindly discovers what happened in the last 100 pages, - no detective work - nothing.
As a thriller there is no suspense, no twists - nothing.
The characters are all fairly two dimensional, often a requisite of whodunnits so they can be used as suspects except the author doesn't have any suspects here. All you are left with are cardboard cutouts.
The main character Lucy Strong is self-obsessed and has no empathy with any of the other characters, only considers her own feelings. She also moans about being a 'celebrity' but then happily uses her 'celebrity' to further her own career. There is real hypocrisy here which only makes the heroine extremely un-sympathetic.
The title is also rubbish, what exactly was Susannah Piper's Secret Life. All Lucy discovers is that some people didn't like her as she slept around and could be a tough boss. This is NOTHING that the heroine didn't already know at the beginning of the book.
To top it all this isn't even well written. Scenes run into one another. it's not even clear over what kind of timeframe the book takes place, or even at times what day it's supposed to be. Sloppy. Where was the editor in all this?
As for being an expose of the TV industry, well it didn't tell me anything I couldn't have gleaned from a tabloid newspaper.
Honestly this is bad. A really blatant case of publisher signing a famous name in the hope of selling some books.
There is no mystery as to what happened to Suzannah Piper, the heroine doesn't even bother to investigate what went on and only blindly discovers what happened in the last 100 pages, - no detective work - nothing.
As a thriller there is no suspense, no twists - nothing.
The characters are all fairly two dimensional, often a requisite of whodunnits so they can be used as suspects except the author doesn't have any suspects here. All you are left with are cardboard cutouts.
The main character Lucy Strong is self-obsessed and has no empathy with any of the other characters, only considers her own feelings. She also moans about being a 'celebrity' but then happily uses her 'celebrity' to further her own career. There is real hypocrisy here which only makes the heroine extremely un-sympathetic.
The title is also rubbish, what exactly was Susannah Piper's Secret Life. All Lucy discovers is that some people didn't like her as she slept around and could be a tough boss. This is NOTHING that the heroine didn't already know at the beginning of the book.
To top it all this isn't even well written. Scenes run into one another. it's not even clear over what kind of timeframe the book takes place, or even at times what day it's supposed to be. Sloppy. Where was the editor in all this?
As for being an expose of the TV industry, well it didn't tell me anything I couldn't have gleaned from a tabloid newspaper.
Honestly this is bad. A really blatant case of publisher signing a famous name in the hope of selling some books.
March 23, 2009
I enjoyed reading this book but some parts just seemed rather unrealistic.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews