The maven of guilty pleasures is back with a vengeance! Jackie Collins is at her prurient best in Lethal Seduction, creating a cast of characters as flawed as they can possibly be and still be likable. At the center of the whirlwind is stunning Madison Castelli, introduced previously in Collins's L.A. Connections series. Madison is a no-nonsense journalist who specializes in revealing interviews with the rich and famous. She discovers that her own life is not exactly as it seems when she hires private investigator Kimm Florian to uncover the secrets of her family's past. It turns out Maddy's beloved father didn't make his fortune in investments but rather as a mob hit man. And his targets may have included her two mothers: her real mother, who was murdered when Maddy was just an infant, and Stella, the beautiful, distant woman Maddy always believed to be her mother. Add in a pesky ex-lover who wants her back and a commitment-phobic new boyfriend in photographer Jake Sica, and Maddy's life is spinning out of control.

But she's hardly alone. When Madison's best friend, Grace Kelly look-alike Jamie Nova, finds out that her so-called perfect husband is cheating on her, she will do anything (and anyone) to get back at him. But the most captivating story line is that of bitch supreme Rosarita Falcon, unhappily married to a handsome but unsuccessful soap opera star whose real name is Dick Cockranger. Rosarita is perfectly willing to stoop to murder-for-hire (with her dear old dad pulling the trigger) to get rid of her husband so she can be with Joel Blaine, public sex fanatic and son of billionaire Leon Blaine.

The stories merge in a spectacular crescendo at a Las Vegas prizefight, when a mysterious stranger, Vincent Castle, appears to save Maddy and Jamie from an awkward situation. Fans of Jackie Collins will hope they haven't seen the last of Madison Castelli. --Alison Trinkle