Beauty Story

The link between the three main parts of Beauty Story is Alison MacAteer, a woman we first meet when she is a young, feisty would-be paparazzi journalist, harassing the Beautiful People, as they attend premieres and parties, in search of the perfect photo-opportunity. Later, as a totally ruthless and embittered fashion-hack who takes no prisoners with her acidic writing, she is faced with a personal tragedy which leaves her both emotionally and physically scarred, and leads the reader into the final section of the book; Alison faces her own demons, while completing her last assignment. Jenning's enviable talent for descriptive prose takes the reader into the soul of the breathtaking setting for the cosmetics commercial where the final drama is played out, cleverly interweaving a past, long-forgotten mystery with the present day tragedies of characters whose lives are inextricably bound with the way that they look.

Without the intelligent touches of dramatic irony which bring the whole story sharply into perspective, Beauty Story would still be a compelling and enjoyable novel. With it, though, what we have is a seductive, irresistible portrayal of a group of people who live as if permanently performing in front of a camera, never quite understanding that, eventually, the end credits have to roll.--Susan Harrison

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A magical book. - Rated
To say that I enjoyed this book would be a massive understatement. I carry it with me and, although I have been reading it through twice completely, I like to dip into my favourite parts of the story.

London is described as I like to imagine London, very much glamour, very much fashion. But this is not all of the book and the pain and suffering of the heroine is very well told, I think.

The second half of the book is quite the most beautiful thing I have ever read and the sense of mystery is very clever in it's development.

Luke Jennings is a very good writer and this book is to be recommended.

A very cool cult mystery, very lush. - Rated
A friend of mine bet me that if I started this book which her other friends had read I'd have to finish it, and I did, in fact I stayed up all night and nearly got sacked from work in the morning (which wouldn't in many ways be a bad thing). This is a totally cool, cult book, very lush and luxurious, that seems to be a straight forward mystery but then you realise like the reader from amazon.com that theres another much deeper mystery going on below the first. It would also make the most brilliant film with Anjelina Jolie as Alison, please, assuming she could do the English accent. More from this writer soon!

A first rate mystery. Highly recommended! - Rated
... I read an brilliant and insightful review of this book on the Amercian Amazon website which made me impatient to read this book, especially after I had read Jennings "Breach Candy." The characters are all quite believable, and thrillingly shallow. Jennings has the happy knack of making the characters laugh at their own shallowness. The heroine, a designer label junkie [wouldn't we all be if we had the chance] comes a real cropper half way through the narrative but claws her way back, a changed person. There's a real Midsummer Night's Dream feel about this book. It's intriguing, slightly gothic and eminently readable. Highly recommended! [I advise readers to read the Amazon US review before they read this book. That review is most intriguing and offers a rare insight to the workings of Jennings mind.]

Designer thriller has realism and a materialistic bent. - Rated
Beauty Story took my attention straight away and held it throughout the book. I was initially suspicious of a book, written from a woman's viewpoint, where the author was a man but Luke Jennings handled this adequately. I thought the characters were realistic in that none of them were perfect, and sometimes a mystery remains just that, a mystery. For this reason I liked the plot and the way it took some unexpected turns. This was not merely a thriller, but a little bit of an expose on the world of the Sunday supplements, as well. I very much liked the way the author described the landscapes and settings, you really felt you were there. However my enjoyment of the book was marred by the continual reference made to brands and designer "names". Is this the first book to include "product placement"? I couldn't help but cynically suspect the the manufacturers of 555 (cigarettes) had slipped the author a "little something" to have his heroine light one up every X number of pages. The voice of the author also was heard each time the heroine slipped on a CD, my guess is this author is a soundtrack fan. I live with one, so I recognise the compunction to name the composer as well as the title. How many people say "Would you like to listen to Miller's Crossing , by Carter Burwell?" It jars, and it to my mind hints of a maculine mind-frame, thus my comment about hearing the author's voice. My overall impression of this book is favourable, I would recommend it, with the cautions listed, and I would read another book by this author.