The Starlets
It’s 1958, and Apex Pictures is producing A Thousand Ships, an epic about the Trojan War being shot on location on an Italian island. Vivienne Rhodes thinks she’s playing Helen of Troy, only to find she’s playing Cassandra and her rival Lottie Lawrence is to play Helen. Vivienne is furious, but is talked into taking the lesser role. But there’s more going on than filming – Vivienne and Lottie stumble onto a drug smuggling scheme using film props to hide the drugs. And so starts a chase across Europe, from Monaco to the set of Ben Hur in Rome. Vivienne and Lottie don’t outrun the smugglers, and are hauled back to the set of A Thousand Ships. There they are held hostage, and do their best to thwart the murderous smugglers in an explosive climax.
The Starlets is a good read; its background is solid and the storyline engrossing. Vivienne and Lottie are appealing heroines, and their journey from bitter rivals to fast friends is satisfying. The settings are vivid, especially the movie locations, and the breakneck flight from the bad guys is exciting. A great way to spend a couple of hours.
