Member Review
Review by
Martin P, Reviewer
A glorious story straight from the Golden Age of Thrillers.
The story opens in 1967 where film historian Paul Conway is trying to track down the last remaining copy of The Devil's Playground, a notorious film from forty years ago. His search leads him to an isolated hotel where he finds more questions than answers.
We then jump to Hollywood, 1927 where film studio fixer Mary Rourke is summoned to the home of actress Norma Carlton, only to find her dead, With rumours circulating that the star's latest film "The Devil's Playground" is cursed, Mary is quickly drawn into an investigation into what actually happened.
And so the reader is immediately pulled into a dark and twisting tale of money, secrets, witchcraft and murder. This book could have come out of the Golden Age of thrillers - it has all the elements I love in a story. The characters are well-drawn and although perhaps caricatures of twenties heroes and villains, all the better for it. The story moves along nicely, as Mary uncovers secrets, some from a long time ago.
I'm not a huge fan of the (now seemingly mandatory) dual timeline novel, but here it works well. There are also some flashbacks to other times, all of which slowly start to fill in the events which have led to Mary's predicament. By the time we reach the final chapters, we're ready for the lovely conclusion.
For me, the star of the book is 1920's Hollywood, where most of the story takes place and which is portrayed in all its finery, debauchery and glamour. There are classic cars such as the Packard 533 coupe, ladies in cloche hats and men in fedoras and double-breasted suits and they all live art Art Deco mansions. The author paints all this and more in glorious technicolour and is clearly a fan of the era. We also take a trip to the deep south, where the bayou hides its own secrets.
Critics are going to argue over which genre this books fits in to - horror, noir story or thriller, Whichever, fans of Ellroy and James M Cain are going to love it. I was fortunate to receive a Netgalley ARC, but I'll be first in the queue for a real copy when it's released.
Thoroughly recommended.
The story opens in 1967 where film historian Paul Conway is trying to track down the last remaining copy of The Devil's Playground, a notorious film from forty years ago. His search leads him to an isolated hotel where he finds more questions than answers.
We then jump to Hollywood, 1927 where film studio fixer Mary Rourke is summoned to the home of actress Norma Carlton, only to find her dead, With rumours circulating that the star's latest film "The Devil's Playground" is cursed, Mary is quickly drawn into an investigation into what actually happened.
And so the reader is immediately pulled into a dark and twisting tale of money, secrets, witchcraft and murder. This book could have come out of the Golden Age of thrillers - it has all the elements I love in a story. The characters are well-drawn and although perhaps caricatures of twenties heroes and villains, all the better for it. The story moves along nicely, as Mary uncovers secrets, some from a long time ago.
I'm not a huge fan of the (now seemingly mandatory) dual timeline novel, but here it works well. There are also some flashbacks to other times, all of which slowly start to fill in the events which have led to Mary's predicament. By the time we reach the final chapters, we're ready for the lovely conclusion.
For me, the star of the book is 1920's Hollywood, where most of the story takes place and which is portrayed in all its finery, debauchery and glamour. There are classic cars such as the Packard 533 coupe, ladies in cloche hats and men in fedoras and double-breasted suits and they all live art Art Deco mansions. The author paints all this and more in glorious technicolour and is clearly a fan of the era. We also take a trip to the deep south, where the bayou hides its own secrets.
Critics are going to argue over which genre this books fits in to - horror, noir story or thriller, Whichever, fans of Ellroy and James M Cain are going to love it. I was fortunate to receive a Netgalley ARC, but I'll be first in the queue for a real copy when it's released.
Thoroughly recommended.
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