A meaty, densely packed presentation of Tinseltown riven by potentially murderous factions on the brink of World War II.
Three years after a 1936 bank robbery turned lethal, a Hollywood production based on the story fans fatal flames for costume designer Edith Head (Dangerous To Know, 2017, etc.), her buddy Lillian Frost, and several other less fortunate denizens of La La Land.
Within two days after the $20,000 heist at the California Republic Bank, all three robbers were dead along with Detective Teddy Lomax, whose LAPD partner, Detective Gene Morrow, is Lillian’s beau. So Lillian is understandably outraged when she realizes that the screenplay of Streetlight Story, the picture Paramount’s making about the crime, fingers Gene as the inside man who set up the whole job and betrayed his partner. George Dolan, the former newspaperman who shares script credit, says that he was only brought on to lighten the dialogue and provide comic relief; the bones of the story were the work of ex-con burglar Clyde Fentress. Since Lillian, the social secretary to semiretired industrialist Addison Rice, doesn’t even work for the studio, she can do nothing to keep the project, under the direction of Aaron Ludwig, ne Ludwig Aaronofsky, from moving forward. Someone else, however, seems to have more decisive plans to meddle with the production. In short order two hangers-on with a special stake in the story—hotel handyman Aloysius Conlin, an aspiring actor who did time with Clyde in Folsom, and Clyde’s writing protégée, Sylvia Ward—are murdered. Producer Max Ramsey is undeterred: “All I needed was some gossip in the newspapers!” he announces jubilantly. But Lillian has to wonder what sort of Pandora’s box she’s opened in peering once more into the abyss of the California Republic job, till Edith, initially buried under all the subplots and cameos (Fred MacMurray! Ben Siegel! Billy Wilder!), uses her sharp eye for fashion to come up with a pleasingly unexpected solution.
A meaty, densely packed presentation of Tinseltown riven by potentially murderous factions on the brink of World War II.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7278-8910-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Severn House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
This ran in the S.E.P. and resulted in more demands for the story in book form than ever recorded. Well, here it is and it is a honey. Imagine ten people, not knowing each other, not knowing why they were invited on a certain island house-party, not knowing their hosts. Then imagine them dead, one by one, until none remained alive, nor any clue to the murderer. Grand suspense, a unique trick, expertly handled.
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1939
ISBN: 0062073478
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1939
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
