Hollywood Secrets

Hollywood Headlines #2

by Gemma Halliday

Cameron Dakota is the L.A. Informer's staff photographer and paparazzi extraordinaire. Her latest subject is Trace Brody, top-shelf actor and half of America's favorite Hollywood couple. Trace is about to get married in a blow-out wedding, and Cam's editor, Felix Dunn (from the High Heels Mysteries), has assigned her to get the first shots of the bride and groom. But when Cam takes pictures of what looks like Trace being threatened at gunpoint, she suddenly finds herself smack in the middle of a scandal more sensational than even she could invent. On the run, under fire, and in serious danger of falling in love with one leading man, Cam must get to the bottom of this story...before she becomes tomorrow's headline.

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Humor, Cozy Mystery

ebook

First published August 24, 2010

About the author

Gemma had a hard time figuring out what she wanted to be when she grew up. She worked as a film and television actress, a teddy bear importer, a department store administrator, a preschool teacher, a temporary tattoo artist, and a 900 number psychic, before finally selling her first book, Spying in High Heels, in 2005 and deciding to be a writer.

Since then, Gemma has written several mystery novels and been the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Reader's Choice award and three RITA nominations. Her books have hit both the USA Today and the New York Times Bestseller lists.

Gemma now makes her home in the San Francisco Bay area where she is hard at work on her next book.

Reviews

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 if I could. Can't quite give it a 4. Totally unrealistic, but funny and entertaining none the less. Good for an entertaining easy read.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books and Gemma, I am sorry, but I would like more from Cam and Trace, Allie and Felix, Tina and Cal. Sorry but I love them.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little mystery, romance, and comedy. What more can a girl ask for??

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, nearly 4, as I did enjoy it as a light, easy read with likeable characters and a decent mystery with romance added in. What threw me were editing errors and some odd word usage.

[Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gemma Halliday is one of my "go to" authors when I need a good read with some laughs, some romance and a little attempted murder.

[LaFleurBleue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second book in the series was also a pleasant and lighthearted read
Honestly even less realistic than the first, as the love story between the A-list start and the paparazzi was a bit hard to swallow. And that there never was any issue about her having to find another line of work was just too much
However I enjoyed reading about their discovery of each other and their budding attraction towards each other

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

library e book

she is the photographer in the tabloid magazine. tina from the last book is the writer. they also got a overweight psychic and annoying new writer .

she saw a actor getting kidnapped behind a club but no one believed her. she felt responsible to find him but when she got in his house looking for clues he was in there.

he had found a thumb drive in the limo and they wanted it back, saying they would kill him if he didnt return it. but he had given it to his agent to return. they found the agent murdered in his house but no thumb drive. he had given it to his 'girlfriend' who was in vegas so they went there looking for it.

after trying to get it back, it was run over by a grayhound bus. so they got a new one from walmart to trick them into letting his girlfriend who they were holding loose. but it didnt work. they got into a gun fight and the photographer, cam , saved them.

then she found out the girlfriend of the actor was behind this the whole time . the girlfriend was going to kill her, but tina from the paper shot the actress and saved her friend

the actor told her he loved her and she loved him too

good series i would read more

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore Gemma Halliday and her quirky and funny characters. Her books are not books that leave you thinking about them for days later nor inspire you to change for the better. But they are such a fun escape. This series is fun that the main character is a different member of the LA informer staff. The mystery isn’t what makes you turn the pages. But the comedy and extreme flamboyance of some of the characters makes you laugh out loud and unable to put the book down - no matter how late in the night it is.

[Karin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A staple gun is hardly a deadly weapon, but is definitely enough to distract someone. Reporters tend to live dangerous lives. Some of them would eat their own young for a story. Especially one about a wining, overpaid, and overhyped actress. That’s okay Cameron, I didn’t like her either! I enjoyed this story and recommend the book.

[Josee Brisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute cute cute

This is such a cute story. I was smiling the whole way through. How an ex-model turned papparazzi ends up the hero of the day... and saves the star she was stalking. If it sounds cookie, then well it definitely is! I just loved this!

[Kathy L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Total fun reading

Cam the heroine works at a low level paper as a photographer trying to get pictures of top celebrities. She meets Trace an action hero engaged to be married to America's sweetheart. Funny things happen involving new crime and old crime.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tabloid?

A sweet story that I couldn’t put down. This book has everything. Characters that you either love or hate. Working for a questionable magazine. Death, confusion and a love story. I loved it.

[September Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute romance and mystery suspense. Very clean also. Enjoyed this very much also even though it’s a set I didn’t have to read the first one to know what was going on.

[Marie Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical girl meets boy story.

[Joy Schulz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books and Gemma Halliday is one of the best authors out there

[Mare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a fun series. A bit of action, a lot of comedy, just a plain good time.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable with a happy ending .

[Theresa Dougherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it

Fun heartwarming read! Characters were just perfect and the storytelling made me excited to read the 3rd book in this series.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

2nd in Box set from Rosie

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is entertaining all the way through. There are some definite elements where you can tell it was inspired by Janet Evanovich if you've read her books. The ending became a little obvious but still really cute. It's a fun mystery with greasy bad guys, a super hot Josh Duhamel looking leading guy and an awesome relatable main character.

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked Cam despite her having a horrible job. She seems pretty cool. I even liked the actor who seemed very down to earth. The story is a bit crazy and the twist/surprise ending not really a surprise. But it was a decent journey. The two stars is mainly the cheating thing. The whole book is a romance between Cam and Trace who is engaged (admittedly his fiance is vapid and unlikable...but still, he's engaged).

[Kimberly Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cameron Dakota is a paparazzi with a conscience. Working for the L.A. Informer, her latest assignment was to be the watchdog of hunky actor Trace Brody. Hidden away high up on a hill taking pictures of Trace had Cameron all too happy to be in the position she was in. In fact, her patience paid off when her trigger finger snapped several shots of her subject in his birthday suit. Felix, her editor, was going to scream with delight and surely earn her a raise.

After turning those photos in, she got a tip that Trace was going to be hanging out at a well-known spot all the celebrities went to. While there, several of her competitors were also setup to take shots of Trace. But Cameron was too smart for her own good. She decided to uproot herself on top of the roof behind the night club because she had a hunch her hunky Trace was going to step outside.

Talk about having paparazzi intuition. Bingo! Trace stepped outside to have a moment to himself, only he didn’t realize he wasn’t alone. Cameron managed to get some excellent shots of him taking a breather. Oh, but wait a minute! A rather large truck pulled up alongside the club, where Trace was standing. Two men jump out and approach Trace. Cameron couldn’t read lips, but she never took her finger off the Shutterfly. Taking several pictures, she gathered through her lens something wasn’t quite right about these two guys talking with Trace. She thought right when she noticed these guys push Trace in the back of the truck. Cameron didn’t know what to do. No one else saw what she saw. So, she did what any photographer would do. She got her ass down from the roof; jumped in her car; and gave chase to the truck.

And the story literally takes off after this. The reader will travel from L.A. to Las Vegas and back again trying to figure out why these guys had taken Trace. When she decided to tell her boss about it, he said it was just a publicity stunt. Cam couldn’t find anyone to take her seriously as to what she witnessed. It wasn’t until she was in her usual spot on Trace watch that Trace himself showed up and ordered Cam to drive him away from his home and the story gets zanier as it goes on.

This was a cute whodunit. I am happy to say I figured out who was behind this kidnapping from the very beginning, but it doesn’t take away from the story. Cam’s attitude and cute phrases and sayings had me laughing all through the book. She’s quite a character. I did notice in the Kindle version there were quite a few grammatical errors which caused very minimal interruption to the flow of the story, but outside of that, this was a fun story to read. I truly enjoyed it.

I give Hollywood Secrets #2 four photo flashes. This is a cute and zany story with characters that are believable and quite entertaining. I didn’t realize I read the series out of order, but it doesn’t matter because they read as a standalone. If you enjoy romantic comedies with mystery tied in, you’re going to really enjoy this book.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book a LOOONG time ago when I first got my Kindle. It's a good thing I did. I'd previously read this author's High Heels series. I got that as a big bundle. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have continued after book one. I hated them. If I didn't already own this one, I never would have gotten it after reading that other series. So, I'm glad I did.

This was MUCH better. The main characters weren't complete idiots. Other than Trace not calling the police in the beginning, they weren't complete morons. So that's a plus. In the end, I enjoyed this one. I had to knock off a star though because there were SO MANY ERRORS in the publishing. There's one paragraph where a character name Clara is called both Carla and Clara. SAME PARAGRAPH! There were several other mistakes, though I can't remember them at this point. There were quite a few continuity errors too. The author makes a point in the beginning of saying that Tina got a pink gun with purple flames on it. In the end, the same gun is described as pink with orange flames (possibly yellow...though definitely NOT purple). There were so many that I knocked off a star for it. Still, the story was pretty good.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had such mixed feelings about this book. I really liked our leading male, Trace. He was grounded and rugged and sexy and all that a leading man should be. As for Cam, our leading lady, she kind of grew on me as the story went on. And Allie, I really just found her character annoying and useless and would have rather had Tina, from the first book, be the supporting character. I think I felt the same way about Halliday's other series. I got sucked in by absolutely loving the first book, then didn't really like the second book but since the first one was so good I kept going and before I know it I'm in too deep to give up.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've really enjoyed this series, but I apparently read them out of order. It did not affect my appreciation of them one bit. Cameron is sassy and smart like all of Halliday's heroines. Trace barely resembles what you would believe a movie star to behave like. All in all they are a good team, except for that pesky detail of Trace's fiance. Any way the accompanying cast of supporting characters is funny, as always, and overlaps a bit with the rest of this series and the high heels mystery series. A great, fun, fast read!

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paparazzi is following Hollywood's 'hot couple' prior to their wedding. She sees the man, a major movie star, kidnapped by a couple of hoodlums and follows. This cat and mouse extends until the next day when she discovers him at his home. They join efforts to catch the hoods and get themselves extricated from the situation. A funny, quick read that is predictable but silly enough to make up for it.

[Jealisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halliday has done it again bring back a worlld of mystery and letting us experience hollywood from both paparizi and celberity point of view while being kidnapped and accidently framing yourself for murder.
A hilarious story which is hard to put down with so much laughter it worth not getting any work done. time well spent. :-)

[Candice Gilmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely adored it. Read the entire book in an evening. Could not put it down--tons of fun. My hubby had to tell me to go to bed.

And who wouldn't want to get lost in a book about wooing a Hollywood hottie? I know I loved it.

[Gizzard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mediocre mystery that will probably appeal to people who enjoy following celebrities. I thought the high heeled mysteries were better, but both are very far fetched. Good for free, but definitely not worth 5 or 6 dollars.

The mystery itself was silly.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. I thought it a little silly to start but quickly warmed up to it.

Minor continuity problem — Tina’s gun is first described as pink with purple flames. Flames are described as yellow at the end.

I did not like the use of the words “spastic actress” to describe the behaviour of Jaime.