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The Predators
The Secret
The world's bestselling novelist is back with Secrets , a steamy novel chronicling the rise of a lingerie chain. Jerry Cooper of The Predators is back to launch his new empire of intimate women's apparel. He now has a son, Les Cooper, a streetwise young lawyer who slowly uncovers the family's mob involvement, a secret which Jerry has desperately tried to conceal until he finds himself in need of a lawyer. Combining the grit of his early work with the glamour of his later novels, Robbins once again provides readers with a pantheon of street-raised hustlers and anti-heroes who would use their hard-won knowledge to claw their way up the ladder of success.
416 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 22, 2000
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252 people want to read
About the author
Harold Robbins
304 books437 followersBorn as Harold Rubin in New York City, he later claimed to be a Jewish orphan who had been raised in a Catholic boys home. In reality he was the son of well-educated Russian and Polish immigrants. He was reared by his pharmacist father and stepmother in Brooklyn.
His first book, Never Love a Stranger (1948), caused controversy with its graphic sexuality. Publisher Pat Knopf reportedly bought Never Love a Stranger because "it was the first time he had ever read a book where on one page you'd have tears and on the next page you'd have a hard-on".
His 1952 novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, was adapted into a 1958 motion picture King Creole, which starred Elvis Presley.
He would become arguably the world's bestselling author, publishing over 20 books which were translated into 32 languages and sold over 750 million copies. Among his best-known books is The Carpetbaggers, loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, taking the reader from New York to California, from the prosperity of the aeronautical industry to the glamour of Hollywood.
His first book, Never Love a Stranger (1948), caused controversy with its graphic sexuality. Publisher Pat Knopf reportedly bought Never Love a Stranger because "it was the first time he had ever read a book where on one page you'd have tears and on the next page you'd have a hard-on".
His 1952 novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, was adapted into a 1958 motion picture King Creole, which starred Elvis Presley.
He would become arguably the world's bestselling author, publishing over 20 books which were translated into 32 languages and sold over 750 million copies. Among his best-known books is The Carpetbaggers, loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, taking the reader from New York to California, from the prosperity of the aeronautical industry to the glamour of Hollywood.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 3, 2009
Harold Robbins is one of my favorite easy reading, somewhat risque, romance authors. This book was an abomination. He had died and what they tried to do was make a book of unfinished works Harold had lying around. They did no justice to Harold. Too bad this had to happen.
June 27, 2016
Completely disliked this. Couldn't get more than half done with this book.
August 1, 2020
Obicno pogledam na prvoj strani koji je originalan naslov knjige i koje godine je napisana, pa sam se ovde iznenadila da je objavljena 2000. godine, 3 godine posle smrti Harolda Robinsa. S obzirom da je bio jako plodan pisac, iza sebe je ostavio puno rukopisa, delova i skica, ponegde samo zabeleske ideja potencijalnih romana. Njegovi naslednici su posle unajmljivali pisce da ih dovrsavaju, medjutim za ovaj roman nisam naisla na podatke o tome. Tako da ne znam u kojoj meri ga je neko doradjivao, ali sigurno je na njemu trebalo jos da se radi. Prvo: velika je razlika izmedju prvog i drugog dela romana. U prvom delu je stari Robins koji uzbudljivo pripoveda ono u cemu je najbolji - uspon sitnog muvatora do uspesnog poslovnog coveka i to u izuzetno interesantnom periodu posle II sv. rata kada se svet oporavlja od njega i kada se industrija naglo razvija, a samim tim i kriminal. Mafija, Koza nostra "stavljaju sapu" na sve, nijedan posao ne moze da se razvija, a da se njima ne placa "zastita" ili transport. Dzeri Kuper se odlicno snalazi u svemu tome iako se bavi prodajom zenskog rublja. Ono sto je zanimljivo u ovoj knjizi su pralelna poglavlja pisana u njegovom prvom licu i njegovog sina Lena. Secanja imaju i jedan i drugi na proslost i njihov odnos i to mi je bila najbolja strana romana. Razvijajuci posao i gomilajuci kapital u stalnom su trazenju ulaganja i u druge poslove i tu dolazimo do drugog dela romana gde sele interes na Istok u Hong Kong i Kinu...i tu polako posustaje sve. Iz poglavlja u poglavlje samo se nabrajaju kombinacije poslovanja sa opasnim i komplikovanim Kinezima. Izgubi se ona emotivna nit izmedju oca i sina, njihovih zena i pred kraj kada se otkrije ta "tajna" utisak je prilicno blag. Tja. Efekat velikog iznenadjenja je izostao i jedna tako strasna tajna ostane ispricana u par recenica. Nikakve gradacije i pripreme pre toga kakve je Harold umeo da smisli u ranijim romanima. Zato jedna slaba cetvorka od mene.
July 5, 2016
Ick. Just ick. I rarely regret my obsessive need to finish any book I start, but I was regretting all the way through this. No plot to speak of, just a succession of short bald chapters wherein the equally unpleasant father and son co-protagonists either advanced in their worldly wealth, or interacted with some poor woman entirely defined by her physical self. (There are many women in this decades-long story, and not a one of them has any agency except through her sexuality). Robbins describes the kinky lingerie and sex toys which are the firm's principal goods with what I can only describe as a heterosexual male snigger. But there weren't any good sex scenes, either. And oh, the explaining (and the mansplaining!) - insulting to the reader. Really, the dim sum was not important enough in the narrative to stop and give a definition. And of course we couldn't be expected to remember characters from previous chapters, so we had to get not just the name but the entire context in which they had been introduced all over again.
I looked for some sort of emotional resolution, but the "secret" of the title (at least what I assume to be the most important of the secrets) just fell flat for me. I didn't care enough about the primary character to care that one of his long-term associates in crime had actually carried out the mob hit on his parents.
Pah. That's too much of my time spent on a bad book. Since it was a posthumous publication, I would be happy to learn it was a Frankenstein put together by the estate and not representative of this author's apparently wildly popular work.
I looked for some sort of emotional resolution, but the "secret" of the title (at least what I assume to be the most important of the secrets) just fell flat for me. I didn't care enough about the primary character to care that one of his long-term associates in crime had actually carried out the mob hit on his parents.
Pah. That's too much of my time spent on a bad book. Since it was a posthumous publication, I would be happy to learn it was a Frankenstein put together by the estate and not representative of this author's apparently wildly popular work.
September 1, 2012
I've read a dozen or so books since my last review but have been too busy to do reviews because of producing 2 novels & a second-edition of my own.
"The Secret" is a family saga covering two generations, the story told from the point of view of father and son. It does not miss a beat in lightly covering a range of pornographic cliches but is still an interesting and entertaining read - in parts hard to put down.
This is the first of Robbins' books I've ever read. All I know about the author is that he wrote "The Carpetbaggers" which was turned into a film I saw many years ago. On the back cover of "The Secret" he is described as "the bestselling author is back" and his having led "a colourful life" He's certainly used it to create colourful characters and situations in this book.
Worth having read but I wouldn't describe myself as having become a committed Robbins fan.
"The Secret" is a family saga covering two generations, the story told from the point of view of father and son. It does not miss a beat in lightly covering a range of pornographic cliches but is still an interesting and entertaining read - in parts hard to put down.
This is the first of Robbins' books I've ever read. All I know about the author is that he wrote "The Carpetbaggers" which was turned into a film I saw many years ago. On the back cover of "The Secret" he is described as "the bestselling author is back" and his having led "a colourful life" He's certainly used it to create colourful characters and situations in this book.
Worth having read but I wouldn't describe myself as having become a committed Robbins fan.
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November 18, 2009Trashy enough to captivate me on the stationary bike!
July 17, 2010
This book like all his others caputures your attention right from start to finish.
August 18, 2012
Ron 2 stars
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August 30, 2013Read 6/01
April 7, 2025
Much like its predecessor, this book manages to have no plot. It doesn't even attempt to end with a meaningful moment or a take away. Things just happen until you get to the last page, and then it's over. Especially humorous are the attempts at foreshadowing, as if perhaps a plot will begin to develop. At one point one of our lead characters remarks that he thought he would never see someone again and that later he would wish that to be true... and then it doesn't matter. Literally nothing that happens matters.
I suspect that Robbins identifies too strongly with his protagonists to actually put them through any kind of hardship. Someone's wife leaves them, will they be inconsolable? Eh, it'll be fine, they'll just marry a younger, hotter woman. A business partner is murdered, will that destroy the company? Nah, it'll just be an opportunity to get closer to their benefactor (who is richest man in the whole wide world!). Someone's girlfriend is secretly plotting to murder them, will they overcome this perilous plot? No problem, they'll just murder the girlfriend and her secret lover and it'll never come up again. Life just flows by, nothing sticks to anyone, nobody stresses anything, and everyone becomes fabulously wealthy but is never fully satisfied with it (but the lack of satisfaction is never reflected upon and isn't really a theme or anything).
Frequently, I read trash and feel like I've managed to extract a little interesting tidbit from margins either about the circumstances of its creation or the audience that it was originally enjoyed by. This book gave me no such glimpse of interest.
I suspect that Robbins identifies too strongly with his protagonists to actually put them through any kind of hardship. Someone's wife leaves them, will they be inconsolable? Eh, it'll be fine, they'll just marry a younger, hotter woman. A business partner is murdered, will that destroy the company? Nah, it'll just be an opportunity to get closer to their benefactor (who is richest man in the whole wide world!). Someone's girlfriend is secretly plotting to murder them, will they overcome this perilous plot? No problem, they'll just murder the girlfriend and her secret lover and it'll never come up again. Life just flows by, nothing sticks to anyone, nobody stresses anything, and everyone becomes fabulously wealthy but is never fully satisfied with it (but the lack of satisfaction is never reflected upon and isn't really a theme or anything).
Frequently, I read trash and feel like I've managed to extract a little interesting tidbit from margins either about the circumstances of its creation or the audience that it was originally enjoyed by. This book gave me no such glimpse of interest.
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May 15, 2024I’m genuinely disappointed in how this book turned out. I was really waiting for the hen so plot twist here everything unravels, connects, and makes sense but it was all a let down.
The book has it moments where I found it hard to put down but the plot just lacks direction and the author didn’t know what to do with it. He seems like he got a whole bunch of information about the scanties business and decided to write about it without waiting to have an actual plot or at least see an end to it.
One thing he did very well is how he penned his characters. I won’t be forgetting Jerry and Lenny Cooper for a while - which is a good thing because I love it when characters stay with me long after I finish reading a book.
The book has it moments where I found it hard to put down but the plot just lacks direction and the author didn’t know what to do with it. He seems like he got a whole bunch of information about the scanties business and decided to write about it without waiting to have an actual plot or at least see an end to it.
One thing he did very well is how he penned his characters. I won’t be forgetting Jerry and Lenny Cooper for a while - which is a good thing because I love it when characters stay with me long after I finish reading a book.
February 17, 2020
Good book. But something is missing.
May 30, 2020
Any day authors before 2000 are classy. The secret story content is limited however narration and build up is excellent.
September 26, 2022
Harold Robbins. That's it.
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February 22, 2024Usual Harold Robbins thriller
April 5, 2017
A much stronger work than the prequel
I thought this book was well-written and stronger than the prequel, Predator. Robbins gave a lot of life to the two POV characters, Jerry and Len...especially Len. The women were of course subjected to the same sexualized tropes but at least they were more compelling and portrayed to be a lot more smarter than is usual for Robbins. Also, I love how Robbins writes his books on different subjects from politics to business to entertainment, all are written with the view of someone who has done an awful lot of research. This may not be a literary piece, none of his works are, but I daresay you'd be hard pressed to find many novels with a better story. This one surely ranks among his best for me so far, alongside The Adventurers and The Betsy (and The Stallion).
I thought this book was well-written and stronger than the prequel, Predator. Robbins gave a lot of life to the two POV characters, Jerry and Len...especially Len. The women were of course subjected to the same sexualized tropes but at least they were more compelling and portrayed to be a lot more smarter than is usual for Robbins. Also, I love how Robbins writes his books on different subjects from politics to business to entertainment, all are written with the view of someone who has done an awful lot of research. This may not be a literary piece, none of his works are, but I daresay you'd be hard pressed to find many novels with a better story. This one surely ranks among his best for me so far, alongside The Adventurers and The Betsy (and The Stallion).
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews