Lethal Seduction

Madison Castelli #1

by Jackie Collins

New York fashion designer Jamie Nova has chosen the glitz of Las Vegas as the setting for celebrating her impending divorce. Joined by her two best friends, street-smart Madison Castelli, and Natalie de Barge, an ambitious TV reporter - Jamie plans to make the most of her hard-earned holiday and forget all about her controlling ex. When the threesome encounters Mark Blaine, the fun-loving playboy scion of a real estate billionaire, things start to heat up very quickly. Madison and Natalie receive a frantic midnight phone call telling them Mark is lying in Jamie's bed. And he's dead...

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Thriller, Novels, Suspense, Audiobook

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

There have been many imitators, but only Jackie Collins can tell you what really goes on in the fastest lane of all. From Beverly Hills bedrooms to a raunchy prowl along the streets of Hollywood; from glittering rock parties and concerts to stretch limos and the mansions of power brokers-Jackie Collins chronicles the real truth from the inside looking out.

Jackie Collins has been called a "raunchy moralist" by the late director Louis Malle and "Hollywood's own Marcel Proust" by Vanity Fair magazine. With over 500 million copies of her books sold in more than forty countries, and with some 30 New York Times bestsellers to her credit, Jackie Collins is one of the world's top-selling novelists. She is known for giving her readers an unrivalled insider's knowledge of Hollywood and the glamorous lives and loves of the rich, famous, and infamous. "I write about real people in disguise," she says. "If anything, my characters are toned down-the truth is much more bizarre."

Jackie Collins died of breast cancer Saturday, September 19, 2015. Jackie Collins, who had kept her illness secret, said recently that she believed in an afterlife, that she had no regrets and that she had emulated Frank Sinatra in that “I did it my way.”

Visit Jackie's website: www.jackiecollins.com
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/JackieJCollins
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/jackiecollins and Pinterest:
www.pinterest.com/jackiejcollins

Reviews

[Brooklyn Tayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll always love re reading Jackie Collins. Her books will always hold a special place in my heart. This one was my third read and it was every bit as exciting and enthralling. Nobody will ever write like JC <3

[Adelaide Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen, Jackie Collins is not a perfect person, and this book contains a fat woman who smells like garlic and some other things that just wouldn't pass muster nowadays. However, THERE IS A CHARACTER NAMED DICK COCKRANGER. FIVE STARS.

[Deb Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book! I'm not a huge Jackie Collins fan, I have only read a few if her books, but this one was one that I really enjoyed. And Yes I do think it is a 5 star book! Just because some people do not like it, does not give other's the right to question how I rate a book!

[Fiona Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read a Jackie Collins novel for a loooong time. The last time, I think I was about 16. I probably read it on a blanket in the back garden in the summer, feeling I was reading something very glamorous and naughty and I probably hid it under the blanket every time my mum came out to ask how my exam revision was going…

It was a time in my life when the only glamour I knew was a Constance Carroll cherry roll-on lip gloss and some Anne French cleansing milk so these books were like Wow! The bonkbusting glitz and danger of it all. The lust. The money. The settings: New York, LA, Vegas... places at the time I could only dream of (I’ve been to them all now but hey, I’m quite old). The characters – larger than life and with the best names ever. Lethal Seduction has ‘Madison Castelli’, ‘Dexter Falcon’ and an ex-stripper named ‘Varoomba’ for goodness sake!

This book came up on a BookBub deal for 99p and I grabbed it and raced through it faster than one of Collins’ heroines whips her knickers off when she wants to get down and dirty with someone she really likes (it’s all about female power and control in these books, which I love). I devoured this book. I laughed. I cheered on those strong female characters. I booked a trip to Vegas (not really).

I remembered just how much I loved these books. Indeed, I can feel a whole Jackie Collins mini-retrospective coming on. I might save the next one for my summer holiday though – I think you need to have a fruity cocktail in your hand, a hot lifeguard in your sights, and be in the pool on a lilo or something…

Bravo Jackie Collins. An absolute legend!

[Doctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Lethal Seductions' is all about sex, lust, luxury, money, and not to forget,deception, betrayal, and crime; it seems the latter co-exist with the former naturally. Jamie is betrayed by Peter and Dexter by Rosarita. Michael kills one wife after another, his daughter Madison's mother and step-mother so methodically and skilfully that she gets no idea about it until she is twenty nine. And when life surprises her with startling information of the existence of a brother and an aunt and that her father was a professional killer, she feels like a stranger to her own world, her own family.
Sex occupies the center of the world of luxury, riches, and licence. This pervades the world of the old too - Leon Blaine, the billionaire,Chas the moneyed father of two married daughters and not to speak of Dexter's father Matt who ogles at any woman including Varoomba's famous artificial assets and pours vulgarities into his son's ears.
But beneath all these are the assumptions which men and women live by, written in Collins' inimitable pithy style.They are many, but here are just a chosen few:
"..,women are like wine...they get sweeter and more precious" p 245
"A person gets the friends they deserve."p 303
"Nothing worth having is easy." p 192
"Thirty is old when you are twenty." p 137
I award this book five stars.

[Beffcrk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I once again liked learning about all the different characters, even though some of them were unlikeable but I suppose that’s the point. Not 5 stars as I wasn’t completely hooked however if you’re debating whether to read it or not there is a character called Dick Cockranger, so yes give it a read.

[Rich Girl · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst book by Jackie Collins that I have read! I had troubles finishing it, because the plot was not interesting and some characters and their behavior were utterly unbelievable. Waste of time.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackie Collins manages to weave several character's stories together with an ending in an explosive weekend in Vegas. Sex is the main focus in the lives of several characters: the son of the richest man in the world likes having sex in places where he will have an audience; the soap star's wife is having a hot affair; the father of one character has his favorite stripper (Varoomba) move in with him; the golden couple heads for divorce because the husband is having an affair - with a man. Ambition is always another theme for this author and in this book we have an ambitious magazine writer; an ambitious television host, a photographer and a boxer. Basically - candy for the mind.

[Gauri]

I enjoyed reading the book. It has some stunning revelations. However, the story seems unfinished with refernce to Madison's story line and Wish more of Dexter's success would have been elaborated :)

[Samantha Tonge · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute escape from the challenges of the current, difficult time. I LOVED this story and got swept along with all the characters' subplots.
A lot of fun. A lot of glamour. What a ride!

[Lonaye Lott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't resist reading another one of her trashy novels. Enjoyed the change finished very quickly! 🐱

[Firdosh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well I would definitely say this book is r rated and I would only recommend people above the age of 18 to read it. Filled with sex and a little bit of drugs I thoroughly disliked this book. It was recommended to me as a relaxing read (my sister, I guess she didn't know the type of genre that I'm in to ) but I was thoroughly disturbed by this book.
That aside I thought the characters were not deep enough. Madison the main character was very fickle and strange in that she would push issues she was facing aside ( dramas with her father) and discuss other random irrelevant things such as her doorman . I didn't like how the book was from the point of view of several characters, although it did all tie together in the end
So overall if I could go back I would not read it since it was a waste of time and after finishing it I feel thoroughly disturbed and dissatisfied.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

It got the rating of just ok as it wasn't Jackie Collins's best book. I liked others that I have read a lot more. It was a long story and felt just as long to read it. It had good characters though but just felt like I had read the story lines before. It just didn't feel exciting and new. Some of the story was a bit predictable. I felt like the story lines went on a bit to long but the ending was a good wrap up of the characters lives. It did have its good bits though. Just felt like I was reading and reading and reading and nothing was happening that wasn't fun or not predictable.

[Lesley Alcock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not impressed. it was ok but not one that I had to read from cover to cover in one sitting. Didn't connect with any of the characters.. It got interesting towards the end but then just stopped. Needed an epilogue to explain what happened next......come on please! Looks like there is a sequel but am I really that interested in finding out what happens next...I think not.

[Dena Pardi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pretty bad book. I've always enjoyed the fast paced, light read of Jackie Collins novels but this one just lost it for me. It was crude and vulgar for the sake of being crude and vulgar, the story climax fell flat and the epilogue did tie all the ends, but were predictable and lame. It's too bad, I really wanted to like this book, but I was not a fan.

[Simisola Aremo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the way Jackie Collins represents her female characters. They always have that extra something and she makes sure to emphasize their sexuality.

Not sure if I liked the ending of this book though. It seemed rushed. Would've liked if Madison's story was fleshed out a bit. Rather than a few pages of reconciling with her dad and meeting her unknown half brother.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a hot fast-paced page turner! I loved the layers and subplots to the entire story, but I wished there was more time spent on Madison's saga. I wanted to see how she worked through her feelings towards her father.

Great read with many facets to enjoy!

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder, mystery, intrigue. Power struggle. Love this book. Jackie Collins is one of my all time favorite authors.

[Teana74 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jackie Collins always make sexy books..one of my fave books!

[Eleanor Thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - abandoned on page 43 after reading these lines: On reflection, there were quite a few things about David she hadn't liked. So why the wasted two years?" At that point I came to realize that, on reflection, there was nothing I liked so far about this book so why waste my precious time?

Red flags: The characters were painted as either stereotypical tropes or incredibly weak from the start such as: the spoiled, racist, rich bitch; her gangster father who says things such as 'I thought you was in love"; beautiful women who don't know it, clinging to crumbs of compliments which center around their appearance, and are crushed by suspicions of infidelity; crass men obsessed with "big titties". Ugh.

[Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was busy and long. However, it was not long in a "character development" kind of way but in a "add in more characters for word count" fashion. I've never read a book with so many characters that would have easily made separate books, most characters and dialogues were unnecessary and contributed nothing to the story. It's not a story I would retell to a person with how busy it was. I finished it because I was curious, not from intrigue, only to understand what the author was trying to do. I figured it out and my final opinion was that a lot was happening in this book for it to remain interesting.

[Shelby Shack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d give this book a 3.5
It was a nice light read for vacation! Faced paced, exactly how I like it. The ending was a little too predictable. But I enjoyed the different perspectives. I didn’t fall in love with the main character, which is fine, I don’t mind disliking the main character in my books. It’s just a different way of thinking. There were still a lot of unanswered questions. Some characters I had no interest in but felt like it was just a filler for the book.

[Kumerjit Chajgotra · Rating 4 out of 5]

lethal seduction was a very interesting book. it was the first time for me to read adult fiction, which was new and strange for me to digest, but it definitely introduced me to a different genre of stories. it took around one month to read this, as I was busy those days but the story was easy to read and understand, and well-woven story. people who are into adult fiction can give it a try. I liked the book.
go ahead, happy reading.

[Ada · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the kind of book you take to the beach for a little summer reading and you are not especially afraid of the pages getting wet or sandy! Good but not great! You will read it two years from now and like it again but you won't remember a thing about the plot or the characters.

[Connlou Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

(c)2000 I have never read a Jackie Collins book that I didn't like. Exciting. You could hardly wait to see what happens next. One of the books that I wish had a sequal. Romance, devious manipulations, and raunchy.

[Jasmine (Readingonsundays) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jackie Collins books. The writing is easy to follow along and the subject matter isn't so convoluted that you need to focus all your attention. The books are easy to read yet still captivating. I have been a fan of her books for 13 years. I have plenty of them and hope to own all of them.

[KG · Rating 1 out of 5]

LOL.

[Emily Maree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was everything from sex and secrets, to crime and death. There was never a boring bit and I enjoyed every page of it. Jackie Collins has impressed me once again!

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beginning was hard to get into and I was a little disappointed at the end because I feel like there are still questions that did not get answered. Ok read

[Brian McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jackie Collins has been a guilty pleasure of mine for 35 years. LETHAL SEDUCTION does not disappoint.