SOLVED. A once famous reclusive actress has a daughter who is also an actress. She is very beautiful with, I believe, long red hair. The daughter is very manipulative. Hints throughout the book that she might not be a female. [s]

[Hannah]

I think I read this book around 2008 and but it was definitely older than that. It was probably around 600 pages or so and involved other characters and story lines, but this was a main one. The mother was damaged by her fame, loss of fame and life in general. The daughter, who is likely transgender or perhaps a hermaphrodite, is a popular actress who is nearly obsessed with winning an award. There is a gay "uncle" who tries to give her advice. I don't quite remember if she dies in a car accident and is exposed during the award ceremony, but she is exposed at the end of the book.

Help! I've googled all you can google! The name may or may not have Hollywood in it. Thanks in advance.

[Kris]

Hannah, would you say this is a spoiler: "Hints throughout the book that she is not actually a female"? If so, we'll remove it from the topic header and add a spoiler alert.

[Hannah]

I don't think so. I suppose it might be, but it you never really know the truth of what she actually is. You just know she has some sort of secret with her gender that her mother is responsible for. I'm not even sure she is completely aware of the whole truth. So no, I don't think it's a spoiler as it's a never answered question in the book.

[Kris]

Hannah wrote: "I don't think so. I suppose it might be, but it you never really know the truth of what she actually is. You just know she has some sort of secret with her gender that her mother is responsible for..."

Okay. I changed it to "might not be" in the topic header.

[Rainbowheart]

Is this is the same book Dianne is looking for here?

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Dianne]

Hmmm I’m not sure. The daughter in the book I am looking for seemed to be rather unaware that she was not female (in that the Mom sent her to a dr at an early age and there were pills she took) possibly one of the hints that she was not female. D

[Dianne]

Oh, and yes, the book I read the daughter ended up in hospital (car accident, I think) and they came to see the daughter and were told that no, this person has a penis and was definitely male. That was the big shocker in the book. So yes, it may be the same one.

[Hannah]

I think it is Dianne. It definitely made you unsure exactly what the daughter knew/understood about her gender. She was very proud of her body and her beauty, but I got the feeling she realized her gender wasn't quite her gender. I seem to remember that while she liked to use her sexuality to her advantage she wasn't interested in sex.

I think the name had Hollywood in it, but I don't know.

[Dianne]

Yes, I remember at one point in the book the daughter was going to get married, but then called it off when she found her fiancé in the greenhouse with another guy. The Mother freaked out telling the daughter that “he would have not asked any questions”.

[Dianne]

I just really hope that someone can tell me the name of the book or author. Like Hannah, I have googled pretty much everything and can’t come up with it.

[Summer]

Hey, is there a chance it's one of the Hollywood Daughters series by Joan Lowery Nixon?
https://www.goodreads.com/series/5358...

[Dianne]

No, definitely not the book I am looking for. Hannah?

[Hannah]

No, that's not it. However, I am 100% sure we are looking for the same book Dianne. My google results have been crazy!

[Rainbowheart]

Could it be something in the Hollywood Wives series?

https://www.goodreads.com/series/63468

[Hannah]

No, unfortunately not that either. Jackie Collins is pretty popular.. I feel like I had never read another book by this author. I might be wrong, but it's not part of a series, though.

[Dianne]

Agreed - I think it was the author’s first book, not part of any series.

Definitely what I would call a “trashy” novel.

I thought I read it about 20 years ago, but more like 15. I only read murder mysteries/thrillers now.

[Hannah]

I read it around the same time I read A Glimpse of Stocking, which was another Hollywood mindbender type book. I don't know what genre I would put this book in.. except it makes you think about taboo topic, same as Glimpse of Stocking.

[Rainbowheart]

Not many books with this theme published more than 15 years ago. Worldcat doesn't bring up much. I've searched for "transsexual" and "hermaphrodite" and related keywords. There are a smattering of novels and tons of fetish stuff. Nothing about Hollywood that I was able to find.

[Dianne]

I also remember there was a lot going on in this book - the trailer trash actress with the hooker Mom, and lots more stuff that I can’t remember. I do know I will know the name when I see it though!

I read it before the Twilight series, and I think I started reading those the summer of 2008.

[Dianne]

Rainbowheart wrote: "Not many books with this theme published more than 15 years ago. Worldcat doesn't bring up much. I've searched for "transsexual" and "hermaphrodite" and related keywords. There are a smattering of ..."

There was so,much going on in the book that the transgender daughter was not the main theme, just one of the many characters in the book.

[Rainbowheart]

Starstruck: A Hollywood Saga?

[Hannah]

Yeah, I think the other actress was maybe the main character. I didn't even remember her until Dianne mentioned it. I think the book was probably from the 90s or early 00s.

[Dianne]

The main theme of the book was more about the actresses and what was going on behind the scenes and in their personal lives. And I am uncertain if there were 2 actresses or 3 that the book told the story of.

[Rainbowheart]

Leading Lady?

If not, is this the right style of book?

[Dianne]

Interesting.. I was going to say that one of the characters was named Bunny! I don’t think it was Leading Lady, but I will look at other books by this author.

[Dianne]

Ok definitely not Leading Lady that I was thinking of. Hannah ?

[Dianne]

And I read a preview of Starstruck - A Hollywood Saga and can’t say for sure whether that’s it. It’s not available at my library or an ebook. The only thing I can find on Amazon is a paperback from the UK. What little I read sounded more like the beginning of Mulholland Drive (the movie) before it got crazy!!

[Denis]

This sounds like a trashed-up knockoff of Tom Tryon's "Fedora" from Crowned Heads; Hannah, PLEASE keep up with this and bump as necessary, because it sounds like something really fun to read!

ps: Is there a way to underline book titles in the comments and/or replys?

[Summer]

Yes, you click the add book/author button at the top right of the comment box, and type in the author name or book title, and it puts in a link for you

[Sus]

Olivia Goldsmith? Flavor of the Month?

[Sus]

Flavor of the Month

[Dianne]

BINGO! That’s the name of the book I was looking for!

I just read the synopsis and I was pretty sure that the TV series they starred in was “Three for the Road”, and I was correct.

Thank you!

Hannah, is this the book you were looking for?

[Denis]

Summer wrote: "Yes, you click the add book/author button at the top right of the comment box, and type in the author name or book title, and it puts in a link for you"

Thank you, Summer!

[Dianne]

Hannah, I just finished re-reading Flavor of the Month, and this is definitely the book you are looking for. Took me a few days to finish it, but I realized how much I had forgotten.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Hannah isn't around but she was 100% certain her book was Dianne's book, and Dianne's thread was solved. Moving to Solved.