The Starlets

HISTORICAL FICTION | ACTION & ADVENTURE | MYSTERY

Two longtime rival starlets discover a dark side to the glamour of old Hollywood and must band together when they find themselves embroiled in dangerous schemes.

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Real life is turning out to be stranger than a script for the silver screen.

Summer, 1958. Vivienne Rhodes thinks she’s finally landed her break playing Helen of Troy in Apex Pictures’ big-budget epic, A Thousand Ships, an anticipated blockbuster meant to resurrect the failing studio. Naturally, she’s devastated when she arrives on the remote Italian island of Tavalli and finds herself cast as the secondary character, Cassandra—while her nemesis, the fiancée-stealing Lottie Lawrence, America’s supposed “sweetheart,” is playing the lead role instead.

The tension on set, though, turns deadly when the ladies discover that members of the crew are using the production as a front for something decidedly illegal—and that they are willing to kill to keep their dealings under wraps. When the two women find themselves on the run and holding key evidence, Vivienne and Lottie frantically agree to work together to deliver the proof to Interpol, hoping to protect both their lives and their careers.

Staying one step ahead of corrupt cops and looming mobsters, the archrivals flee across the seas. Their journey leads them into Monaco’s casinos, Grace Kelly’s palace, on a road trip through the Alps—even onto another film set, before a final showdown back on Tavalli, where the lives of the entire cast and crew hang in the balance. Vivienne and Lottie finally have the chance to be real heroines—to save the day, the film, maybe even each other—but only if they can first figure out how to share the spotlight.

Real life is turning out to be stranger than a script for the silver screen.

"Author duo Kelly and Thorne (THE ANTIQUITY AFFAIR, 2023) return with a new historical thriller set in 1950s Hollywood . . . A fun, madcap romp through old Hollywood with an 'enemies to besties' twist, this book will be a hit with fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid's THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO (2019) and Ally Carter's THE BLONDE IDENTITY (2023)." —Booklist Review

'Kelly and Thorne follow up THE ANTIQUITY AFFAIR with a spry and suspenseful crime novel set just after Hollywood's golden age . . . Kelly and Thorne make a clichéd setup setup entirely their own, wringing surprising depth from Vivienne and Lottie's mutual thawing without skimping on action or sumptuous descriptions of France and Italy. For movie buffs, this will be as welcome as a cool breeze on a hot day.' —Publishers Weekly Starred Review

'In their second collaboration (after THE ANTIQUITY AFFAIR), Kelly and Thorne brilliantly capture both the glamour and grit of Golden Age Hollywood and then deftly fold this into an entertaining plot imbued with just the right measure of danger . . . Pass the popcorn and settle in for a terrific time with this seamlessly crafted blend of historical fiction and old-school suspense.' —Library Journal Starred Review

"Well-crafted and deliciously devourable, The Starlets tosses you onto a Hollywood movie set filled with everything you'd expect and want—glitz and glamor, love, jealousy, extravagance, jaunts across Europe . . . and murder! Plot twists abound when archrivals unite as real-life heroines who must save the day or all is lost, including their lives! A page-turning, exhilarating wild ride of a story . . ." —Jennifer Moorman, bestselling author The Magic All Around

"Glamour. Danger. Adventure. Enemies to besties. Yes, please! This book has just the right touches of killer (pun intended) locations that our heroines get to zip around Europe like an exploded champagne cork. Throw in some Hollywood touches, Esther Williams vibes, and this story is served like the perfect cocktail." —J'nell Ciesielski, bestselling author of The Winged Tiara

". . . a heart-pounding story of non-stop adventure and irrepressible fun. I enjoyed every moment of this 1950s glamorous adventure that whisked me from Hollywood to Italy, with a delightful stop in Monaco to visit America’s favorite Princess Grace, and back to Hollywood again with two leading ladies who know who they are and have the courage to chase what they want. A must read!" —Katherine Reay, bestselling author of The Berlin Letters and The London House

"The Starlets is the most fun I’ve had inside the pages of a book in a long time. The novel flips ‘friends to foe’ on its head, putting two competing actresses in the spotlight, transforming the starlets from adversaries to allies as they race across Europe to take down a kingpin. Shenanigans, quick thinking, and a cat-and-mouse game ensue.  A propulsive, page-turning romp perfect for book clubs." —Jenni L. Walsh, USA TODAY bestselling author of Unsinkable

LEE KELLY

Lee Kelly is the author of The Antiquity Affair, The Starlets, and City of Savages, a Publishers Weekly “Best of Spring 2015” pick and a VOYA Magazine “Perfect Ten” selection, A Criminal Magic, which was optioned and developed for a television series by Warner Bros.

Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Electric Lit, CrimeReads, Writer's Digest, Orca, and Tor, among other publications, and she holds her MFA degree from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. An entertainment lawyer by trade, Lee has practiced law in Los Angeles and New York. She currently lives with her husband and two children in New Jersey, where you’ll find them engaged in one adventure or another.

Recent Releases: The Antiquity Affair, The Starlets

JENNIFER THORNE

Jennifer Thorne is an American author of books for adults and young readers who writes from a nineteenth-century Cotswold cottage in the medieval market town of Minchinhampton alongside her husband, two sons, and various other animals.

Born in a small town in Tennessee, Jenn grew up bouncing between her parents’ homes in various other states and countries, with books as her constant companions, before returning to New York as a teen to study drama at NYU. Though acting had been her lifelong dream, she found that she was more fulfilled by writing performance vehicles for her friends than acting in them herself. After a move to Los Angeles, she detoured into writing and never looked back.

Recent Releases: The Antiquity Affair, The Starlets

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