DEATH IN THE PALACE

The excesses of the Roaring ‘20s include murder.

Englishwoman Emma Blackstone lost her husband in the war and her family to the Spanish flu. Her in-laws, religious Jews who were furious that their son married a gentile, refused to help till Kitty, her actress sister-in-law, hired her as a companion. Movie star Camille de la Rose, as she’s known in Hollywood, has scores of lovers, including the studio head. But her true loves are her three adorable Pekingese, whom Emma cares for in addition to rewriting movie scripts, keeping Kitty on schedule, and helping her juggle her lovers. Kitty is currently feuding with Darlene Golden, her co-star in a historical epic that’s being filmed in New York. Emma is constantly pestered by the author, who’s appalled by the changes made to his book. Although Emma still mourns her husband, she’s recently formed a relationship with cameraman Zal Rokatansky, whose Jewish mother would not be pleased. When Kitty gets a letter with a marriage proposal from Clark Dexter that includes an offer of $50,000, divorce in a week, and all expenses paid, she’s tempted to accept despite a warning from a famous director that Clark is dangerous. Ensconced at the Plaza Hotel, the cast members travel to a studio in Queens and a rented mansion on Long Island for the shoot and spend their nights partying in New York’s finest clubs alongside gangsters, Broadway stars like the Marx Brothers, and wealthy young men like Clark Dexter. Then Mila, Darlene’s stand-in, is found shot dead in the Palace Theatre, and everyone initially thinks the victim is Darlene. Emma, who’s already solved several murders, finds plenty of suspects among the smugglers using the mansion to hide booze and both stars’ jealous lovers.

An entertaining look at the lives of movie stars real and imagined.