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Reviewed by Erika Pennington Written by a former film industry insider, The Truth about Ruby Valentine is an intriguing, funny and altogether entertaining read. Alison Bond manages to unravel an engaging plot amidst the lavish lifestyle of the Hollywood glitterati and the less spectacular scenes of rural Wales in a style of writing that is both confident and snappy. While it won’t teach you a new skill, change your life or make you access your deepest, darkest self, it will have you hooked from beginning to end and feeling thoroughly tickled when it’s all over.
Kelly Coltrane lives an unremarkable life in the back and background of rural Wales. Unsure about her relationship with her ordinary boyfriend, bored with her humdrum job and feeling the malaise of a life without direction, her life is suddenly transformed after the dramatic suicide of international superstar, Ruby Valentine. While the world mourns the loss of a Hollywood legend, Kelly discovers from her photographer father that she is Ruby’s secret daughter. Stunned and curious, Kelly jets to Tinseltown to attend the funeral and find out more about a family she never knew existed. While experiencing the glamour of a life reserved for the rich and famous, Kelly learns that her mother’s real life had been dramatic, tragic and not always fabulous. When Ruby’s fortune turns out be non-existent, Kelly starts to get suspicious and digs further. Her discovery leads to an unexpected truth. Before turning writer, Alison Bond worked in the film industry as an agent and it’s easy to wonder whether some of the characters in her book are based on characters she came across in real life. Bond has written the novel using a parallel style so that the reader learns about Ruby’s past as Kelly does. Mother and daughter could not be more different and it is through these characters that Bond conveys themes concerning the fickleness of fame, ambition, friendship and love.
While The Truth…may not be literary genius, Bond does provide her main characters with emotional depth and as a result they become fun and almost believable. Ruby, despite being self-absorbed and insecure the majority of the time, is also seen as fragile and sensitive. Although almost relieved when her failed film-director husband overdoses, it is hard not to feel sympathy for Ruby’s despair and subsequent descent into depression. But while Ruby’s character represents the good and ugly of fame, Kelly represents the safety of being ordinary. She is likeable, even if at times a little dull, because she is down-to-earth and trustworthy. While her newly found siblings are squabbling over Ruby’s non-existent millions, she is the conscientious country girl (what Ruby once was before fame got hold off her). After attending a star-studded charity event for her mother’s memorial wearing a sexy red dress and the rubies she inherited, she leaves only to end up eating crisps with her boyfriend in the only authentic British style pub in Los Angeles. Other characters such as cousin Sofia, sexy Tomas and slightly camp Max are there to arouse a chuckle or two and depending on your knowledge of celebrity gossip are likely to remind you of someone you’ve read about in Heat. While it isn’t a deep, thought-provoking, life-changing novel, The Truth…is an entertaining, fun read. An ideal summer holiday companion, Bond uses an easy, yet confident style of writing that will have you quickly turning the pages eager to find out what happens next. Thanks to her own insight into the industry, Bond provides a voyeuristic sneak peak into the highs and lows of fame and celebrity and what an enjoyable glimpse it is.
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