Show Business Kills

A hard-driving movie executive, a beloved soap opera diva, a screenwriter nominated for an Oscar, and a well-known actress married to TV's King of Late Night. Four friends who have led charmed Hollywood lives facing middle age. They have always shared a "Girl's Night Out", but suddenly it becomes a painful vigil as three of the women watch their friend fight for her life in an intensive care unit. She has been attacked by a stalker who is obsessed with all four women. Will the bonds of friendship that have linked them together for years enable them to survive this chilling night?From Publishers WeeklyThe author of Beaches has recycled her bestselling blend of show business and devoted friends tested by tragedy into an involving story of contemporary Hollywood. Best friends since their college days 30 years past, soap opera seductress Jan O'Malley, former sitcom star Marly Bennett, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Rose Morris and studio executive Ellen Bass must face facts: they've now reached the age where their "drug of choice has become estrogen." Confronted with her TV character's possible extinction, Jan is renegotiating her contract with barracuda-like producers, while Marly is auditioning for antacid commercials. Rose's agent wants to find her a "young" writing partner, and Ellen is fighting a losing war with a pack of sexually harassing studio honchos. When Jan is shot by a mysterious intruder, the other three investigate old lovers, old friends and old secrets until they discover her attacker's identity. Dart's snappily paced tale is spiced with spot-on doses of black humor, while her insights into female friendships, as always, ring reassuringly true. Even a cliched and familiar conclusion should do nothing to hinder fans' enjoyment. Film rights to Bette Midler's All Girl Productions; author tour. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalLacking the pathos of Beaches-despite the soon-to-be-orphaned child of a friend- this novel mixes the "friends since college theme" with some limp elements of the psychological thriller. Here, the friends are four Hollywood players (two actresses, a writer, a producer) fast approaching obsolescence as they near fifty. As they grapple with the dog-eat-dog Hollywood world, falling faces, and encroaching flab, the four contemplate their pasts and try to come to terms with their presents. The shooting of their soap opera friend, Jan, by a thwarted actress from their college days grounds them once again in the things that matter in life. Schmaltzy, yes, but fans may want this novel directed at the "Fear of Fifty" crowd.--Francine Fialkoff, "Library Journal"Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.