From Publishers Weekly
A young journalist and aspiring novelist takes a job on the Greek island of Santorini and is plunged into peril and mystery in this contrived but lively romantic drama. Tracey Sullivan, a cub reporter at a Miami television station, lives with her beloved father and is engaged to Fortune 500 scion Brian Rutherford Biggs III. On the very same day that she learns Brian has been two-timing her, she is called to report on a suicide, only to discover on air that the victim is her father ("That... that car they just pulled out of the river... I... I know that car. The driver's name is... The driver's name was... one Thomas Sullivan of Coconut Grove"). In going through her father's belongings, Tracey discovers a photograph of the mother she never knew, who bears a remarkable resemblance to famous actress-turned-writer Urania Vickers. Another implausible coincidence-Urania and Tracey share an agent, the handsome Mark Varney-gets Tracey a gig as Urania's ghostwriter in stunning Santorini. Mark is on the premises, too, to Tracey's delight, but the spoiled, possessive Urania has him firmly in her grasp. Meanwhile, back in Miami, Tracey's friend Maribel investigates Tracey's father's death and Brian's corporate connections, and little by little unravels an elaborate scheme that eventually threatens Tracey's very existence. Elements of the gothic and the supernatural (an amulet, a mysterious tower, eerie cries in the night) crank up the melodrama a few more notches. Gould's loopy plotting is over-the-top, but readers willing to suspend disbelief will get plenty of bang for their buck. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Tracey Sullivan is a hardworking news writer for a minor Miami TV station but has hopes of becoming a published author. She lives with her eccentric father and has a handsome, moneyed fiance, but suddenly her world comes crashing down: her fiance has another girl; publishers reject her novel; she ends up having to report on her father's death; and foreclosure is imminent on her home. Her only luck comes when she is offered a job in Santorini, Greece, as a ghostwriter for a famous B-movie star, Urania Vickers, who may or may not be her real mother. She takes the job to save her house and to find out if this woman is her mother, but while Urania is a B-movie star, she acts like a class-A bitch. Her stern housekeeper is straight out of a gothic novel, and a mysterious locked tower adds to the melodrama. Lots of obstacles stand in Tracey's way and put her in danger in Gould's great escapist read, a tale filled with suspense, steamy sex, glamorous clothing, and exotic characters. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
The Greek Villa FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
From the chic playground of South Beach to the dazzling white island of Santorini, Judith Gould uses glamorous locales to great effect in this fast-paced novel of romantic suspense. Heroine Tracey Sullivan finds herself at an emotional impasse when her boyfriend betrays her and her father apparently commits suicide. Going through her father's possessions, she finds proof of her boyfriend's ulterior motives and papers that suggest that the mother who abandoned her as a baby is Urania Vickers, aging movie star and darling of the tabloids. Incredibly, the next phone call is from her agent, Mark Varney, asking her to ghost a novel by Vickers and work with him and the star at her Greek villa. Who could resist? Tracey settles in to rewrite by day and fall in love with Mark by night. But, just like the old movies, there are signs of dangers everywhere -- a screaming woman in a tower, Tracey's own fear of heights, heavy objects dropping from above. Tracey may find a happily-ever-after but only if she can just stay alive. Ginger Curwen
FROM THE PUBLISHER
When Tracey Sullivan's father dies, she is compelled to investigate the whereabouts of the mother who abandoned her years before. Soon she becomes embroiled in the dark and deadly secrets of an aging actress who won't let go of her past-or the handsome young agent in her clutches.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
A young journalist and aspiring novelist takes a job on the Greek island of Santorini and is plunged into peril and mystery in this contrived but lively romantic drama. Tracey Sullivan, a cub reporter at a Miami television station, lives with her beloved father and is engaged to Fortune 500 scion Brian Rutherford Biggs III. On the very same day that she learns Brian has been two-timing her, she is called to report on a suicide, only to discover on air that the victim is her father ("That... that car they just pulled out of the river... I... I know that car. The driver's name is... The driver's name was... one Thomas Sullivan of Coconut Grove"). In going through her father's belongings, Tracey discovers a photograph of the mother she never knew, who bears a remarkable resemblance to famous actress-turned-writer Urania Vickers. Another implausible coincidence-Urania and Tracey share an agent, the handsome Mark Varney-gets Tracey a gig as Urania's ghostwriter in stunning Santorini. Mark is on the premises, too, to Tracey's delight, but the spoiled, possessive Urania has him firmly in her grasp. Meanwhile, back in Miami, Tracey's friend Maribel investigates Tracey's father's death and Brian's corporate connections, and little by little unravels an elaborate scheme that eventually threatens Tracey's very existence. Elements of the gothic and the supernatural (an amulet, a mysterious tower, eerie cries in the night) crank up the melodrama a few more notches. Gould's loopy plotting is over-the-top, but readers willing to suspend disbelief will get plenty of bang for their buck. (Oct. 7) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A mother's little ghostwriter digs up family secrets galore. Tracey Sullivan, peppy research assistant for a Miami TV newsroom, has big dreams of writing bestsellers, but not much spare time. She's gotta work for a living, even though she has a rich boyfriend. Brian Rutherford Biggs III is fun, virile, and unbelievably good-looking, with the "swept-back profile of an aerodynamically-designed hood ornament." And he just bought a killer boat, with "aerodynamic Euro-styling and a swept-back radar arch." Brian's one cool breeze, all right, though down-to-earth Tracey wonders if he'll ever introduce her to his parents. Meantime, there's sex and booze. But does this book have a plot? It certainly does. And it revolves around the as-yet-unwritten memoirs of bitchy B-movie star Urania Vickers, who hasn't delivered the promised manuscript to Greenleaf Books, a publisher recently been absorbed by one of those hydra-headed, multinational conglomerates that doesn't give a whistle about authors or fine literature. Just the bottom line. Heartless bastards! The plot thickens faster than stale tapioca in the Floribbean sun: Tracey has to pay the mortgages on her father's property after his mysterious suicide, and a subsidiary of her boyfriend's financial empire is calling in the notes. Really heartless bastards! Poking around in Dad's papers reveals a mysterious family link to Urania-can this washed-up movie star actually be her mother? Tracey jumps at the offer of big bucks to ghostwrite Urania's book-to-be. Trailing after the bejeweled movie star to innumerable glamorous international locales oughta be a blast. And maybe, just maybe, mommy will love Tracey again. But not so fast. There was an identicaltwin sister, brain-damaged in an accident, who pretended to be Urania and caused no end of trouble. Not even being shut up in the tower of Urania's villa on Santorini has cured her. Gee whiz! Which twin is which? Will Tracey's real mother please stand up? This latest from bestselling Gould (The Best Is Yet to Come, 2002, etc.) is-well, indescribable.
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