Jake and Laura have arrived at a Hollywood in the midst of change, but still the Hollywood that is now legend, where starlets were discovered at street-corner diners, and speakeasies catered to the rich and/or famous. The Great Depression, which brought record numbers of viewers to theaters for cheap, escapist entertainment, also made it difficult for studios to pay back their loans on the expensive new equipment needed for sound. Hollywood was still feeling the echoes, as acting careers, producers, directors and studios were still suffering the fallout.
The Jazz Singer, the first feature film presented as a talkie, premiered in 1927. In this particular case, Jake & Laura go to Hollywood in the relatively early days of the “Talkies”. And that we associate certain people with certain eras helps fix the story in time in a way that bare historical details may not. We feel that we are familiar with the ancillary characters, even if we don’t know the details. The thing about using the 20th century as a setting for any type of historical fiction is that even if the reader doesn’t personally remember the era, it is close enough in time that we knew people who did, or at least that some of the icons of the time live in the public consciousness. The Jake & Laura series is tremendously fun, especially if you like 20th century historical mysteries, and/or if you like stories where the fictional creations interact with real people. Blackie Doyle, the tough-talking, fist-swinging, womanizing hero from Jake’s novels wouldn’t pull any punches until he exposed the real killer-nor will Jake, to keep the role of a lifetime from being his last. With gossip columnist Louella Parsons dead-set on publicizing the charges against him, Jake has no choice but to do what everyone else does in the City of Angels: act like someone else. Proving his innocence won’t be easy in a town where sex, seduction, and naked power run rampant. And since Jake exchanged words with the hothead just hours before his death, the bestselling author becomes the LAPD’s prime suspect. But peace and quiet are not to be had when an all-too-real murder plot intrudes: After a glitzy party, the son of a studio honcho is discovered dead from a gunshot wound. At her side, of course, is Jake Donovan, under pressure to write his next mystery novel. Just arrived from New York, Broadway actress Laura Wilson is slated to star in Hollywood’s newest screwball comedy. Purchasing Info: Author’s Website, Publisher’s Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Book Depository Format read: ebook provided by the publisher via NetGalley
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