Thom Racina

Never Forget🍒🍒🍒
By Thom Racina
2002
Signet

Max Jason is the latest hot rising Hollywood movie star. He seems to have it.....until he agrees to star in ' Never Forget', the movie that is detined for a huge hit, that would seal his position as top actor.
He has no idea this movie would end his career- but is at fault.....

Maggie- the internationally known film director responsible for discovering Max.
Kristen- the co-starring actress, who is his lover in the movie and hopes to be also offscreen.
Or Nicole - a one night stand that won't go away.....

Or is it someone else....???
Good story, fast paced, but the ending was a little clique. ...but a fun quick story....… (más)

I started reading this... and then realized it's essentially a rewrite of one of Racina's books from the 70s, maybe updated to reflect technology. In any case, I realized within a few pages that I'd read it. That earlier book is called The Great Los Angeles Blizzard. I've written a full review under that title which you can check out if interested, but I'm only making this note here to hopefully alert other readers of the re-titling before they make the same mistake I did and buy this one also, thinking it's a different book. New covers are bad enough, but new titles? Sigh.… (más)

Racina's vision of a major blizzard in Los Angeles is almost comedic in its beginnings, but fast becomes more real, and all the more terrifying. And, of course, that's likely how it would begin, with jokes about snow moving into terror and the unknown. His blending of short sections focused on climatology with engaging characters and a slow progression of intensity makes for a fast read, and while the book is clearly dated, for contemporary readers (having been written in 1977), Racina's focus on simply telling a fast-moving and character-driven story easily overcomes that question of period.

Altogether, this was a pleasant surprise. As a character-driven disaster novel, it had a lot to offer in terms of thought and escape, and it was an incredibly quick read. Having spent some time in Los Angeles, and having dealt with being snowed in on more than one occasion, and for more than a week at a time, it was sometimes too easy to imagine just how believable the panic would be, and how dangerously such conditions would escalate in an unprepared city like LA.

So, in the end, I have to say I'm glad I stumbled across this. It was a relaxing escape, and moved so quickly that it was, at plenty of moments, too hard to put aside or ignore.… (más)

Wow, what a stunner! This has to be one of the best books I have read in mystery in awhile! So Matthew is in love with Julie and kills her parents pretty much because he hated them (yes, despite the fact that they took him in, gave him work and pretty much raised him as their own) because they arranged for Julia to marry Tom. Her and Tom were having some relationship issues mainly because he couldn't have sex with her because she had breast cancer and had to have a breast removed. Anyway, Matthew gets in and tries to become her everything, he wants her to love him the way he loves her. Well I can't go any farther but things come about and it turns out...whoa! what a surprise ending...it is not what you are expecting at all. In fact towards the end you get mad sad and feelin' bad thinking how stupid can she be to be in love with a man like this...… (más)