Siobhan Forrester, lead singer of Beneath the Blonde, has everything a girl could want - stunning body, great voice, brilliant career, loving boyfriend. Now she has a stalker too. She can cope with the midnight flower deliveries and nasty phone calls, but things really turn sour when intimidation turns to murder.

Saz Martin, hired to seek out the stalker and protect Siobhan, embarks on a whirlwind investigation, travelling with the band from London to New Zealand with plenty of stop-overs. As jobs go, this one shouldn't be too hard, except Siobhan is economic with the truth and Saz isn't sure she wants to keep the relationship strictly business.

Book Review

Firstly, BENEATH THE BLONDE isn't the first in the Saz Martin series so you're just going to have to accept some back story to the main character and a reason for her past injuries. As well as there being a backstory to her relationship with Molly (her live in girlfriend), ex-girlfriend Cassie and a bunch of other things that are pulled into this book.

A lot of that understanding is going to be required because BENEATH THE BLONDE is as much about Saz and her reactions - to Siobhan, to Molly, to the band, the people around the band and the travelling. The story of who is stalking Siobhan is told in first person chapters throughout the book, but the reasons and who this mysterious woman is only become clear as the book ramps up to a climax. And the reasons are probably the best part of this book. The build up is okay, the concentration on Saz and her life a bit distracting from the events around Siobhan but what is really interesting is that feeling of 1990's rock and roll / the difference between the "star" and the real person, and the way some people's lives are a whole lot more complicated than yours.

Submitted 5 years 1 month ago by Karen.

Friday, April 11, 2008 - 1:25pm