Phantom of the Soap Opera

by Judi Miller

Death plays a murderous part . . .

Wickedly seductive, Kristi Marlowe was the perfect Heather—America's favorite star on the top-rated daytime soap. She never suspected she was about to die . . .

Looking down at her pretty corpse, NYPD Detective Theresa Morrison felt that Kristi had known her killer, embraced him before she died. But Detective Morrison never suspected that Kristi was only the first marked for murder . . .

One by one, he stalked them. One by one, they screamed, struggled, realized—too late! But no one alive guessed his secret. Not even the smart lady cop as she sat in the dark dressing room, alone, waiting, as a psychopath, a killer, knocked at the door . . .

Genres: Horror

364 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1988

Reviews

[Grady Hendrix · Rating 2 out of 5]

Judi Miller, the Aaron Spelling of paperback horror, turns in a book that's a lot like her Save the Last Dance for Me only this time it's the soft focus, Eighties fabulous world of daytime drama being stalked by a psycho killer bent on revenge against his mother. Tune in tomorrow for...a full review.

[Paula Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

These days, when I read one of the current crop of non-thrillers, I find myself complaining that it plays more like a dull soap opera rather than a proper thriller. So, back on Friday the 13th, I picked this one off the shelf, figuring I could get some Friday the 13th style thrills in a thriller set in the world of soap operas! And it delivered both some cheesy 80s thrills and some good dollops of over the top soap opera dramatics!

Basically, the story is about a mother-obsessed maniac murdering any soap opera starlets starring as, or being considered for the part of Heather in All My Days. The producers are desperate to keep she show on the air despite the murders, as the show is nearing its 25th anniversary of being on the air, and bound to be a huge ratings winner. On the case is Detective Theresa Morrison, who is having some marriage problems. She doesn't seem terribly good at her job, however! She must stop the killer before the big TV wedding.

It's only a 3 star story, but it provided me with some 4 star fun, so I've rounded up. The glorious cover art, the plot, the soapy elements and the grand climax all served to transport me in time back to the 80s/90s itself, watching a cop thriller on late night TV. Filled with silly red herrings and yes, lots of soap opera, I had much more fun with this than any of the white-woman-with-a-secret domestic thrillers that are currently getting churned out.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read, I enjoyed the mystery, most of the characters, and the variety of suspects that keep you on your toes of guessing who the killer is. Theres a side plot of the FL officer and her struggling marriage and pregnancy but I feel like that just took away from the story my only real big issue with the book is the ending.

*spoilers*


While im fine with walter dying and the evil orphanage woman being killed it bothers me to no end that the real villain in the story walters mother, Who was revealed to be Irma, gets off with no consequences! She was a cruel and abusive mother who left him in a bad home with out second thought, had that not been the case he could have been just a normal man and the fact that she isn’t jailed or killed leaves a bitter taste in my mouth at the end of the story.

[vicki_girl]

Saw this at the thrift store. I couldn't resist!

[Tome Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that just by judging the cover and the title you expecting a lot of good things to unfold in these pages! The story itself wasn’t bad but the characters, o my god, they were so unlikable that it made me uninterested at times in what was going on. The only saving grace was the character of Noonie/the phantom. There is so many red herrings that you’ll never knew who the phantom might be until the end. The only reason I finished this one is because I really wanted to know who the phantom was and I feel like the climax/ending did make it worth finishing. 3 stars.

[Judith Jorrisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judi Miller delivers a fast paced thriller that maintains a sense of humor about the genre itself The Phantom of the Soap Opera. She's winking at the reader but takes her craft seriously.

[Brent Winslow · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't recommend this book. The characters are flat, the story is contrived and ridiculous. Skip it.

[Arin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept me guessing.

[Mikepottz · Rating 3 out of 5]

At 7 the little boy was left at the orphanage. His mother didn't want him no more. If only he was a girl. The boy distraught, thinking how could his mama abandon him? Tears flowed down his cheeks, anger filled his small, tiny body. Soap operas watched by bored housewives, corporate executives, yuppies, college kids, they were crack for their minds, pushed to them by the TV companies. The soap stars not seen as people. Soap actresses started getting killed with a screwdriver in the back, no blood, an easy crime. The killer dubbed the Soap Opera stabber. The traumatic upbringing of the abandoned boy. Soap stars must die!