Superstar [Hardcover]

Victoria Gotti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 18, 2000

A secret kept can be like a poison, destroying love, life, and passion. In Superstar, Victoria Gotti -- author of two sensational thrillers, The Senator's Daughter and I'll Be Watching You -- reaches chilling new heights as she offers the story of Cassidy and Chelsea, two baby girls born ten minutes apart, who grow up in different worlds but  are victims of the same horrible crime.

Cassidy is Hollywood royalty and a top Hollywood executive. Beautiful and radiantly healthy, Cassidy is producing the film of her lifetime, a film that will either make her career or ruin her father's studio.

Chelsea has dreams of being an actress. Living on the brink of poverty, she gets the break of her life. She is finally going to be discovered, but what price is she willing to pay for fame?

Now these two women's lives are about to collide, and when they do decades-old secrets, secrets kept despite scandal, heartbreak, and murder, will finally be revealed. Neither Cassidy nor Chelsea could ever have imagined what passions or treachery could be exposed, and how both of their lives will be changed forever.

Superstar is a smart, fast-paced Hollywood thriller unlike any you've ever read before. It's a delicious treat for anyone who's been looking for the next author in the tradition of Sidney Sheldon and Mary Higgins Clark.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gotti (I'll Be Watching You) makes beach readers an offer they can't refuse with a third novel best described as book candy. Cassidy English and Chelsea Hutton, switched at birth 33 years ago, have led very different lives. While Cassidy was growing up in the lap of Hollywood luxury, Chelsea spent her youth with an impoverished single mother, suffering from one illness after another. Yet all was not privilege and luxury for Cassidy either. Her actress mother was murdered when she was 10 years old and her director father was jailed for the crime. New DNA evidence freed him almost 12 years later, but he kept his distance from Cassidy for another decade, claiming shame and humiliation. Chelsea, all grown up, emotionally troubled and armed with the truth about her and Cassidy's past, wants revenge on Cassidy for the life she believes was stolen from her. Cassidy, now a hot producer and completely in the dark about the switch, has been called in by her ailing father to help keep his studio from going under. Jack Cavelli, the most powerful man in Tinseltown, strong-arms Cassidy into letting him cast the female lead in the film that's supposed to save the studio. The starlet's appearance (it's Chelsea, of course) on the set sparks a series of fireworks that will change both women's lives. Gotti's not-so-amicable princess-and-pauper tale of obsession and deception moves from the glitzy mansions and film sets of the movie industry to the avenues of Paris and the gaming tables of Monaco before jetting in for its climax at a masked ball in Venice. Though Chelsea's film debut at age 33 as a "young" actress in a notoriously youth-obsessed industry defies credibility, readers looking for a Collinsesque treat this summer will probably be entertainedAbut then there's the genuine article by Jackie C. herself, reviewed below. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Switched at birth, neither Chelsea Hutton nor Cassidy English ended up having a happy childhood. Chelsea, the biological daughter of a beautiful but insane movie star, is raised in abject poverty by the overly religious former starlet Maria Hutton. Cassidy, sent home with the deranged Lana Turmaine and her movie mogul husband, witnesses Lana's murder, and her testimony lands her dad in prison. Thirty-three years after the switch, the two women meet when Cassidy, a talented producer, is called in to save a movie that will either make or break her father's studio, and Chelsea, a gifted but substance-abusing actress, is awarded the starring role. As Chelsea schemes to gain the position she feels is rightfully hers, someone plays vicious tricks on Cassidy, including destroying the entire movie set, forcing her to relocate to Venice, Italy. Designer names abound as Jack Cavelli, who will own the studio if Cassidy fails to deliver the movie on time and within budget, showers her with dream dates, luscious clothing, caviar, champagne, and diamonds. The action moves right along, but the shallow characters render this glitzy tale ultimately forgettable. Gotti, the daughter of godfather John Gotti, is also the author of I'll Be Watching You (1998). The author's name is likely to generate initial demand, but buy conservatively; this one will fade quickly. Diana Tixier Herald
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (July 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 060960242X
• ISBN-13: 978-0609602423
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,298,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SIMPLY FLAWLESS, August 16, 2000

By 

Rosemarie Acosta (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Superstar (Hardcover)

As an avid reader, I found Superstar to be exciting in every turn the story took. The Author's description of every detail put you right there mind, body and soul. From the introduction of every character, to the heart of the story, to the places it takes you awakens all of your senses. In my prediction of the outcome of this story, I could not have been more off! It was thrilling, believable, at times heart-wrenching and one of the Author's best books yet. I will highly recommend to everyone I know.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the tradition of Sheldon and Higgins-Clark, August 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Superstar (Hardcover)

As an avid Sidney Sheldon fan, I found this book enjoyable, fast-paced and at times unable to put down. I think Gotti is a great writer and will go far with her unique style. I've read her previous novels and all were pleasing, though I found Superstar the best to date. The story-line is compelling, the characters like-able(even the bad guys) and her attention to detail was both accurate and attractive. It gave the story an extra added plus.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long ago and oh so far away story, September 9, 2000

By 

Tasha D. Staggers (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Superstar (Hardcover)

Gotti's Superstar give a reader a chilling tale of two women. One who seeks revenge for being switched at birth. And one who wants to understand why her absent father wants her to take over the family business. The story takes the reader through the glamour and glitz of Beverly Hills. Through the fast pace media world of New York City. And to the romantic world of Italy and Paris. It's chilling to see who Chelsea Hutton's character suffers the painful years of manic depression but still has the anger for a woman she only know from a mistaken identity.