‘MIAMI’ BY PAT BOOTH

Every year around this time my husband and I like to go south. Just to get away from it all. Sun, surf, sand, and a little book shopping in between. Hoping for a glorious time, you know? So imagine our deception this year being unable to travel due to that shitty COVID-19 pandemic. It’s probably the reason why I recently picked up MIAMI (1991, Crown) by the late Pat Booth. If nothing else, the book will at least make me feel like I am back in the city.

MIAMI is all about former supermodel Christa Kenwood who owns a modeling agency. She wants to make it big, and eventually does, when she gets to steal sociopathic model du jour Lisa Rodriguez from Johnny Rosetti, her competitor. Of course this does not bode well for Mr. Rosetti and soon enough, revenge is in the works. Add a lover interest for our heroine in the form of a reputed writer, a rich queen bee who can’t keep it in her pants, a religious hunk who’s torn between what’s right and what’s wrong, a gay photographer who stands to win big if he signs with Kenwood—not to mention page after page of descriptive sex scenes—and you get a pretty good idea what’s in store for you.

Overall, I had a pretty good time reading MIAMI. In between Booth’s overblown narrative I found a complete trashy and sexy novel. Patience is the key to this one. Trying to mix sleaze with a literary approach isn’t always easy on the eye but once past that bump, MIAMI does end up doing justice to its title. Hot spots, hot bodies, hot sex. What more can one want? Yes, the end result may not always be on target but at least it is one step above the traditional racy romantic novel. So kudos to Pat Booth for giving me the vacation I desperately needed despite remaining grounded in my hometown.

Until next post—Martin

PB edition

‘THE SISTERS’ BY PAT BOOTH

I was very surprised to find out that ‘60s UK model turned novelist Pat Booth succumbed to lung cancer in 2009 at the young age of 66. The passing of Jackie Collins in 2015 made me realize that glam fiction writers had literally been dropping like flies. OK I may exaggerate quite a bit but when you start thinking about it, my affirmation is not that farfetched: Collins, Robbins, Sheldon, Booth, not to mention Harlequin favorite Penny Jordan, and more recently Sally Beauman. Oh, and let’s not forget THE FIRST WIVES CLUB Olivia Goldsmith who died in 2004 from complications related to anesthesia. The wheels are turning, my friends, and before you know it, it’s your turn to get off the merry-go-round. Depressing thought, isn’t it?

But let’s talk about Pat Booth’s THE SISTERS (1988, Ballantine), a much better topic. I read this one in the early ‘90s when I was knee deep into my trash period. I wanted to read another Collins but since I was already up to date on her backlist, I had no choice but to settle on Booth. Not that Booth is lightweight, but compared to the queen of racy fiction, she’s definitely second-rate. Nonetheless, THE SISTERS is a delightful little roman-à-clef involving two sisters vying for the same man. Both are celebrities. One is a renowned actress, the other a bestselling author. When a shot from a handgun is heard during the filming of a much-publicized mini-series, suffice to say, all hell breaks loose. Who was it aimed at? Was it one of the sis?  You’ll have to be patient to find out as the story reverts back in time to focus on the tumultuous relationship between those siblings. Attacking lesbians, incarceration in Looney bins, porn—nothing is spared for our spotlight girls. Pat Booth delivers a worthy grade-B novel whose main subjects clearly reminds the readers of two real legendary Hollywood sisters, Joan and Jackie Collins.

Let’s just hope they are nothing like these two central characters because if they are—were—what a pain in the you-know-where they turn(ed) out to be. True or not THE SISTERS makes fun of these two with a relish and delivers an enchanting if flawed little novel. The narrative is rich but does appear somewhat clunky at times, though I have certainly read worse (and kudos to the author for forever trying to impress). None of Pat Booth novels have reached the digital market. My guess is that they eventually will. If not, well, you can always get them via Amazon for a few bucks—that is if you’re like me, always on the lookout for other glitz and glam efforts à la Collins, like THE SISTERS here.

  

Until next post—Martin 

US Hardcover Edition / Pat Booth