A Secret Life Book

It's inevitable that the debut novel by such a high-profile television personality as Esther Rantzen will create something of a stir. But can her talents as a TV presenter and campaigner translate into the field of the novel? Actually, A Secret Life is successful precisely because Rantzen has been canny enough to set her book in the arena she knows best: the world of TV celebrity, in which relationships are tested by the stringent demands (emotional and otherwise) that are made on the denizens of this superficial milieu. Journalist Lucy Strong is Rantzen’s resourceful and persistent protagonist. She knew Suzannah Piper, a media and TV star who has been killed in a car accident, and while Suzannah appeared to have many acquaintances and few friends, there is much interest in the real life she led away from the public gaze. Lucy is keen to find out the truth about her friend, and begins to dig beneath the surface of her death. She quickly finds that there are several anomalies in the star's death: Suzannah was leading a dark secret life, and dealing with some dangerous people. Before long, Lucy begins to realise that she is prying open a can of worms, with her own life under threat. What makes A Secret Life such compelling reading is the author’s careful revelation of the layers of truth that lie beneath a carefully preserved surface--the agenda of Esther Rantzen's own TV programmes, in fact. The detail here has the ring of truth, with Lucy a strongly drawn heroine. But can Rantzen make such a strong showing as a writer when she moves into something other than her own profession? The question is academic: this book shows that intimate background knowledge of a particular world can yield some powerful results. --Barry ForshawRead More