Streetsmart [Import] [Paperback]

Nicholas Coleridge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2000

From Publishers Weekly At once an international whodunit and a glimpse into the glitzy high-end fashion magazine industry, this glossy novel by Cond? Nast U.K. executive Coleridge (With Friends Like These) offers murder, sex, advertising conspiracies and one six-page chapter devoted almost entirely to cologne. After attending a star-studded Park Avenue soir?e, Saskia Thompson, "the most famous magazine editor in the world," is found dead in her Manhattan apartment. Saskia was not only StreetSmart's editor, but also its founder and president, and both the New York and London offices of the magazine are paralyzed by the news of her murder. In blunders Saskia's distant older brother Max, a rough-hewn photojournalist just back from Afghanistan, who is apparently named in Saskia's will as custodian of the magazine until her illegitimate young son, Cody, is old enough to take control. Meanwhile, three sharks are circling for ownership of StreetSmart: ?tienne Bercuse, head of a luxury-goods business conglomerate; predatory Caryl Fargo, head of StreetSmart's main competitor, Town Talk; and Freddie Saidi, a shady Lebanese financier reputed to be an arms dealer. Desperate to find his sister's killer and keep her magazine alive, MaxAwith a little help from Saskia's lawyer, a sexpot junior staffer and some beer-swilling photographer comradesAprovides content for the magazine, squares off with his competitors and investigates Saskia's death. Readers will enjoy Coleridge's depiction of magazine workplaces, as well as the white-collar ferocity of Max's foes. But there is a certain amount of condescension inherent in the author's descriptions of the well-meaning but bumbling Max and his brave but obviously lower-class combat colleagues. Still, for all of StreetSmart's satire of the fashion world, it is the novel's soap opera-ish glamour that will keep readers turning the pages to the bravado finale. (June) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Orion; New Ed edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752834266
• ISBN-13: 978-0752834269
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,067,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Whodunit, April 19, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Street Smart : A Thriller (Hardcover)

The book seemed to barely scratch the surface of character description, although the behind-the-scenes activities of the glamourous life were greatly elaborated upon to make up for this. If the ending had somehow tied up the ends a little nicer and not put Max back at square one, I think I wouldve liked it better. The ending just seemed bittersweet and stuck with nowhere else to go. Furthermore, greater description about Saskia growing up might have made it easier to see why she developed so differently from Max. Its an easy read and predictable, but is still enjoyable.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Well Written Mystery; Insider's View Of TheFashion Mileu, April 3, 2003

By 

Joseph L Burke - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Smart : A Thriller (Hardcover)

I would have given this book 5 stars except for the ending, which I found disapointing. Yes, the novel's mystery is solved but the hero ends up where he started. That is not my idea of the ending this book deserved. The look into the world of a major fashion magazine was terrific. Good characters and a plot that kept me guessing. The author writes very well. If only the ending showed some progress or some promise for the main character! Glad I read it, anyway.

1.0 out of 5 stars Street Smart, July 19, 2001

By 

DONIVEE BARZOLOSKI (BERKELEY, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Smart : A Thriller (Hardcover)

I wasn't at all impressed. The writing style is shallow with poorly developed characters. The main character's sister dies as an apparent suicide which everyone who knew her can't understand and he never calls the police who are invetigating the case to question them. Even when he learns she was strangled he barely reacts and doesn't take an interest in the investigation. Incident after incident occurs to which any normal person of average intelligence would react. He and his new main squeeze just stroll through the story barely paying attention as their world comes apart around them. The only reason I finished the book instead of quitting in the middle was curiosity as to weather the author ever got these two to do something! It sure was a fast read because all I had to do was skim the pages. The writing wasn't interesting enough to bother reading every word. I sure am glad I didn't waste my money buying this book ( I checked it out of the library)