Deadly Embrace Book

Deadly Embraceis another slice off the huge bland loaf of story that is Jackie Collins' stock in trade. Madison Castelli--the streetwise reporter who has featured in five other Collins novels--is taken hostage in a smart LA restaurant by three Russian skinheads who seem to have more plans than is entirely consistent with their gross stupidity. Meanwhile, her half-brother Vincent is on the brink of murderous jealousy in Vegas and her sister Sofia is avoiding rape in Spain; above all, their father Michael is coping with being accused of the murder of his wife and is on the run from the police and his past. Michael Castelli is the most interesting character here, someone who has drifted in and out of criminality the same way he has drifted in and out of love. Collins writes--not well, but convincingly--about obsession and vindictiveness; she also has some sense of how the sheer business of life makes some people let issues slide for decades at a time. This is a book which preaches the virtues of intelligence and emotional control, yet its story-telling is all over the place--most of the plot issues stop at a place marker rather than coming to any conclusion. Collins can do the glamour of the celebrity culture, but she is worryingly caught up in its emotional vapidity. --Roz KaveneyRead More