STAR QUALITY

And you thought that shopping-and-fornicating fiction had gone the way of Michael Milken. Wrong, given the evidence of this debut novel by Hall, a young publishing executive whose inspiration is clearly Jackie Collins. Apparently working on the assumption that more is more, Hall creates a cast list of Hollywood has-beens and wannabes longer than the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade—among them, mega boy-star Drew Stern, he of the unhappy childhood, who lands top billing in director Mark Bauer's new movie, Long Journey Home, and jogs past pretty Laura Danby, whose ex is a Mafia foot soldier named Nico, recently released from prison and out to get Laura for not standing by her man. Meanwhile, Mafia don Paul Fontana puts the screws on Mark (who can't pay back his Vegas gambling debts) in order to get a part in the picture for his daughter, Gabrielle, a soap-opera sex kitten with the morals of an alley cat. Gabrielle's hubby is the fading screenwriter Harrison Moore. He's invited Gabrielle's assistant, outrageously ambitious Grace Warren, into his bed, but shafts her out of credit as coauthor of his latest screenplay. Not to be bested, Grace electrocutes him in his hot tub—a fitting end for Harrison, who's been trying to murder Gabrielle. And then there's Diana Holloway, film siren of ages past and mother of aspiring actress Kelly (as a mom, she ``makes Joan Crawford look like Donna Reed''). Diana gets particularly miffed when Kelly marries her old flame, Graham Denning, yet another actor whose name will appear in the credits of Long Journey Home. The story climaxes with four murders (and many more attempted ones), the film becoming a big hit, and all the right gals getting the right guys—plus plenty of Gucci shoes. Lots of hot sex, twisted plotting, and new meaning for the phrase ``over the top.''