Book Event

The Greatest Lie of All by Jillian Cantor

Thirty-something Annie, better known as Amelia Grant, was ready for some better luck. Her mom died suddenly, her partner of 10 years was caught in a very compromising position with a younger actress, and Amelia's career was not going as well as she had planned. Luckily, her agent called with great news-the current lead dropped out and she was selected to play Gloria Diamond in a biopic of the great romance writer's life (think Danielle Steel). But she had to be off script in a hurry as the shooting commenced in two weeks. Her mother would have been so happy for her as Diamond was her favorite author. 

Annie was a Method actress and wanted to study her subject up close and personal. Diamond's biopic was based on the memoir of her early romance and marriage to her husband George, who tragically died at 32. She never remarried, and George was the inspiration for her first bestseller.

Annie is allowed to spend a week with a very reluctant Diamond as she prepares for the movie shoot, Diamond seems to be angry with her for some unknown reason, and is extremely uncooperative...but Annie finds an ally in her son, Will, who has taken a week off from his law practice to help his mother. Why is Diamond so negative towards Annie, when her reputation was made on being nice? Why does her memoir seem too good to be true? And why does Annie begin to dream of childhood incidents that never happened-or did they?

In alternating chapters, Annie narrates the story of making the movie, while Mare (Diamond's real name) delves into her complicated past and why Annie might be a part of it. Can't give away more than this, just that I enjoyed unraveling all of the lies and secrets in this book...especially "the greatest" one.



Reviewed by Donna Ballard

December 3, 2024

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