I used to read every one of Jackie Collin’s books as soon as they came out. But lately, her novels have been pretty disappointing - as a matter of fact, two of her most recent books I have been unable to finish! (Shocking, considering I have read one her earliest novels, ’’Chances’’ a 700+ page book, several times.)
’’Thrill’’ came out a few years ago. I waited until it was in paperback and then finally bought it.
’’Thrill’’ has several characters and story lines going on all at once. There is Lara Ivory, an incredibly beautiful and nice movie star that everyone loves and adores; there is Lara’s best friend Nikki, who is married to Lara’s ex-husband Richard Barry; (Richard, by the way, still carries a torch for Lara.) There is Joey Lorenzo, a bad boy who meets Lara and falls head over heels for her. Then there is Summer, Nikki’s 15 year old jail-bait daughter who is visiting Los Angeles from Chicago. (Summer normally lives with Nikki’s ex-husband). Aiden Sean is a movie star who has been in and out of rehab for the past several years. There is also Alison, a deranged and dangerous fan of Lara’s; a few years back, Alison’s adoration of Lara turned into hate when Lara had her thrown in jail for harrassment.
So with this interesting mix of characters, here is a few bits of the many plots of the novel:
Lara, the perfect, nice and beautiful movie star, has fallen for Joey Lorenzo, who is working on his first movie. Joey is lying to Lara about his past in order to make himself sound better to Lara. Nikki, Lara’s best friend, is going through some problems of her own when she suspects her husband Richard, (Lara’s ex husband, as mentioned above) is still in love with Lara. She is also trying to produce her first movie and constantly having problems with it. Meanwhile, Nikki’s daughter Summer is out in Los Angeles for the summer. Summer is a too-smart-for-her-age 15 year old - blond, gorgeous, and likes movie stars. Summer is hiding a secret from her mother too - she doesn’t want to go back to her dad in Chicago because he abuses her.
Then there is Joey - how long can he keep his secret from Lara? What’s going on with Alison Sewell? She is dying to get revenge on Lara for putting her in jail. She puts together a foil-proof plan to trap Lara. As for Aiden the rehab-movie star - he has a yearning for Nikki, while Nikki is finding it harder and harder to resist his advances.
Yes, there are many twisted stories running through the plot of this one novel! They are pretty easy to keep up with once you get into the story. These are the ’’spices’’ that usually flavor Jackie Collin’s books - colorful, outrageous characters, non-stop action, and twisting story lines. There is always a bad guy/girl who is out for revenge of some type; there is always a woman in the story who is beautiful and wild, and always a handsome man with a secret past he is trying desperately to leave behind.
As the story races on, Lara decides to star in a low-budget film produced by Nikki, playing a school teacher that gets raped, and Aiden Sean plays her rapist. One night Nikki invites everyone over to her house for dinner. Summer gets one look at Aiden and tries everything in her power to get him, to no avail - he isn’t interested in her, he likes her mother Nikki. Richard is jealous of Lara’s budding relationship with Joey, and decides to cheat on Nikki with his secretary.
So where is the story going? What happens at the end? Jackie Collins has a way of tying up each and every last corner in a story - that is one of my favorite things about her books. Usually in the Epilogue she gives a few paragraphs to describe what happened to each character and situation. So will Joey ever open up to Lara? Will Alison destroy Lara in a fit of rage and jealousy? Will Richard get caught cheating on Nikki, and will Nikki give in to Aiden’s advances? All of those questions, and much, much more will be answered as you read the book.
For the most part I enjoyed ’’Thrill’’. The main story line of Lara and Joey’s love was pretty entertaining; the many subplots were interesting enough to keep me reading. I did enjoy how the book ended, too. Jackie doesn’t usually end her book with all happy endings; there is usually a few downers in there too, and she didn’t disappoint this time around.
However, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in Jackie’s latest books - they just aren’t as good as her old ones. Not only are many of her characters stereotypically overboard, but her stories just aren’t as, well, gripping as her old books were. It used to be that I couldn’t put her books down until I finished them. Now that just isn’t the case. What happened?
What would I change about this particular book? Nothing really. This book is a pretty decent read and will keep you entertained. It does, however, have some graphic love scense in it - so anyone under 15 - I wouldn’t recommend it. This is your typical ’’Smut’’ book.
If you are looking for other books by Jackie Collins, I would recommend any of her old ones, ’’Hollywood Husbands’’, ’’Chances’’, ’’The World is Full of Married Men’’, or ’’Lucky’’.