AN A-LIST FOR MURDER

In March 1940, a Hollywood script supervisor takes on another murder investigation as the U.S. ignores gathering war clouds.

Evelyn Galloway has moved to California, leaving her life and her former love, Alex Trayer, behind in New York, and is now sharing an apartment with dancer Mary Truman. Evelyn was fortunate enough to work with Alfred Hitchcock on his last picture and helped solve the murder of someone distinctly less fortunate. Now Hitchcock, who’s making a movie about “Boravian” (read: German) spies, is fighting the censors, who are pressuring him to keep the film balanced, since the U.S. has declared neutrality in the war. Visiting the ladies’ room, Evelyn meets a weepy Phoebe Dillon, who claims to have come for an audition, even though none are being held that day. Mary is pushing Evelyn to have more of a social life, especially now that Alex has moved to California; in addition to Alex, she thinks journalist Ted Dorton—whom Evelyn hasn’t trusted since he covered the first murder—would make a good partner. Then, when Phoebe’s body is found in a vacant lot, Ted’s newspaper runs a series of stories painting her as a tramp. Evelyn goes to see Det. Thomas Zeigler, with whom she worked before, and tells him all she knows. She’s incensed that someone seems to be insinuating that Phoebe was just asking to be killed. Ted apologizes for his past behavior and works with Evelyn to discover why and by whom Phoebe is being trashed. They discover quite a bit, but it’s not until Evelyn talks to Alex, who’s secretly working to combat German propaganda, that she learns the truth.

A mystery that doesn’t easily reveal its secrets.