Death Upon a Star

December 2, 2024
Meade (the Tish Tarragon mysteries) delivers a charming, well-plotted series launch set in 1939 Hollywood. Evelyn Galloway, freshly arrived in Los Angeles from New York, is eager to start her new job as script supervisor for Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca. During her first day on set, she meets silent film star John Margrave. Now 46, Margrave has settled comfortably into secondary roles and won the universal respect of his peers—making his murder a considerable shock to Hollywood’s elite. Evelyn witnesses someone leaving Margrave’s bungalow on the night he’s killed and goes to the LAPD with the information. But with reporters parroting studio-approved versions of the truth, and LAPD detectives content to follow suit, Evelyn has no choice but to take things into her own hands. She proves a quick study, drawing on her East Coast grit to see her through treacherous conversations with Tinseltown’s power brokers. Meade weaves delightful on-set scenes between Evelyn and Hitchcock into the brisk action, and each red herring feels entirely plausible until it’s neatly discredited. Evelyn is off to a strong start. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds Literary.

January 1, 2025
The glitz of Hollywood's golden age must make room for murder. Evelyn Galloway has moved from New York to California for a dream job as a script consultant on Alfred Hitchcock's filmRebecca. Her roommate, the lovely dancer Mary Truman, aka Marlena True, gives her plenty of tips on Hollywood life. Catching a quick bite at the studio cafe, Evelyn introduces herself to John Cunningham Margrave, an actor she much admires, and their conversation leads him to invite her to lunch the next day. When she arrives back at the commissary, Margrave isn't there, but he's arranged to have Evelyn's lunch provided along with his regrets. On her way home from work, Evelyn notices some unusual activity at the housing complex where Margrave told her he lived. She's rudely pushed aside by a veiled woman rushing to a limousine and gets no help from several people loitering nearby. The next day, the newspapers announce that Margrave is dead. Their stories make no sense to Evelyn. When she goes to the police to report what she saw, Det. Ziegler reveals that Margrave was shot. Beyond that, there are plenty of discrepancies among the stories of witnesses the police have interviewed, and the studio fixers have their hands full as they work to cover up the scandal. It gets worse when the tabloids report that Margrave was in relationships with both film star Madeleine Nabors and 19-year-old Alice Rose Anders, both of whom may have had cause to want him dead. Evelyn, Mary, and Antonio Hernandez, a new friend who works at the studio, refuse to believe it and set out to find the truth. The presence of actual famous stars and studio heads adds glamour to a complex mystery.

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January 1, 2025
This feel-good novel is set in Hollywood at the start of WWII during the filming of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca. The star of the story is Evelyn Galloway, who has fled New York after an unhappy love affair and to distance herself from her domineering mother. Evelyn is thrilled to have landed a job as script supervisor to Mr. Hitchcock and quickly finds an apartment to share with Mary, a dancer who becomes a trusted friend. The first day on the job, Evelyn meets John Margrave, a handsome, fortysomething actor whom Evelyn has admired for years. She's understandably shocked when Margrave is found brutally murdered. There are plenty of potential suspects, from a famous actress to a sulky ingenue, the ingenue's lovelorn boyfriend, and even Margrave's houseman. The police quickly extract a confession, but Evelyn's not sure they've got the right person. Evelyn's perseverance, intelligence, bravery, and pluckiness eventually lead her to a shocking discovery. Nostalgic, sweet, and glamorous, this novel reveals a darker side to Tinseltown. A pleasure to read, with a memorable heroine and plenty of twists to keep readers guessing.

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