I’ve been really into Hollywood mysteries and thrillers lately, probably because I love me some rich people drama and I like to see rich people get scared. Unfortunately, The Hurricane Blonde was not a hit with me. I feel like the writing was too simple and bland for a thriller book, and this one should have been kept pacy instead of spending so much time in the main character’s head as she reminisced about the past. Of course her backstory was important, but it should have been integrated better to keep the reader engaged.

I didn’t enjoy this one.

Dual time line mystery set against the backdrop of Hollywood.

Salma works for a tour company specialising in spots where stars were killed and their murder went unsolved. The last stop on her tour happens to be her own sister.

Dipping between the present day and Salma’s past, as she tries to work out who killed her sister, more secrets come to light - I loved it

Thank you to Netgalley and Allison & Busby for my arc.

If you are a fan of Hollywood glamour and a good murder mystery, this is the book for you.

This is the story of a family, Hollywood royalty, with a dark secret past some members of the family try to keep hidden.

Salma found her sister dead and fight to uncover who did it but. Years later another woman is found dead at the exact same place bringing up all of the feelings Salma has tried to keep buried...

I really enjoy this book, my only complaint would be that it was a little predictable... I saw the end coming a mile away but there were still parts of the story that shocked me.

Overall, its worth the read and I would recommend it.

3.5 stars

Thank you net galley for this advanced copy

#netgalley #TheHurricaineblonde #HalleySutton

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Allison & Busby for the ARC.
I loved this book and can't wait to see what Ms. Sutton writes next. I already added her previous book, 'The Lady Upstairs' into my TBR pile. This is the first ARC that I've read that I've actually recommended to my friends and family. She really has something here. It's one of the first books that I've read in months that I kept thinking about after I was done. She paints a picture with her words, and you feel like you're a part of every scene; you're in the film. *****

The book has an interesting premise set in the world of Hollywood. A murder tour, a killing in the past and the pattern repeating now in the present. This makes for an interesting setting with a lead who has her own struggles both personally and within the industry.

It take a bit of time to get into the book with it being a slow burn. It's however a good thriller once you get into the rhythm of the narrative.

Thank you NetGalley and Allison & Busby for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

It's an excellent noir, it made me think of Chandler and the atmosphere Marlowe's stories. There's flawed and maybe unreliable narratore, there's a lot of layers and secrets, there's grief and a woman who is frozen in time, living in the shadow of the past.
This isn't a relaxing or funny story, there's a lot of hurt and a page turner that you cannot stop reading till the last page.
There's not white and black, there's a lot of surprising twists.
I strongly recommend it as it's brilliant
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

•Multidimensional characters
•Female driven Thriller
•Written in First Person
•Murder in mid-‘90s
•Past and Present
•LA Hollywood
•Dark Secrets
•Fast Paced

“And in the end, when you needed it most, fame meant nothing. It couldn’t protect you from the things that go bump in the night. It couldn’t protect you at all”

The book is mysterious, gripping and unputdownable. It has been written in first person and narrated in past and present perspectives. But I am sure about one thing that all your theories will be proven wrong and the revelations at the end will shook you.

A Hollywood star was killed and her death made her little sister’s life traumatic. Before Tawney Lowe’s death, She and Cal were engaged but she broke off the engagement and strange things begin to happen. She was also known as the hurricane blonde. It’s not just her name but it brings out the dark side of Hollywood, and the dark secrets unveils themselves. As the plot unfolds, we not only learn how Tawney’s sudden death ruined Salma’s teenage years but also unveils the dark secrets and facades each character were wearing.

Yet again when a woman is found dead at the same place where her sister died and has an uncanny resemblance to Tawney, the mystery gets complex, deep, and twisted. Salma is certain to get to the bottom of it but secrets are too deep and twisted.Her sister’s Ex-fiancé is her prime suspect and the dark secrets are connected with the past and present of Hollywood. You have to peel off the layer one by one to get to the bottom of the mystery. I haven’t read anything like this before , there were just hidden facades and so many secrets with buried truths about Hollywood’s inner life concealed behind glamour and glitz. I couldn’t put this book down, once I started reading it.

Thank you Netgalley, Publisher, and Author

Those shows which examine where former child stars are today, and what they are doing, would have a field day with this one. While the Lowe family are Hollywood royalty, things didn't quite work out for their two daughters, Salma and Tawney.

Known as the Hurricane Blonde, actress Tawney was murdered two decades ago, her death remaining an unsolved mystery to date. Meanwhile Salma has had her own problems, having been in and out of rehab and having struggled with recovery.

A former child star, Salma now drives a tour bus for tourists with a somewhat ghoulish bent. Her employers run the "Stars Six Feet Under" tour, which takes tourists to places where famous people have died or been killed. The last stop on the tour is Tawney's home, where she was murdered.

One day, after arriving at that property, they see a woman in the pool. Salma tries to save her, but to no avail. The bizarre thing is, the dead woman looks exactly like Tawney.

Salma, who has never come to terms with her sister's death, is convinced not only that she knows who killed Tawney, but that these two killings are connected in some way.

Determined to discover the truth, she goes on the warpath, deciding to investigate the deaths herself. What she finds, however, is a little different from what she expected...

This is a really exciting story and told with style. It brings all the glamour of Hollywood, along with the mystery of a cold case and the drama of a more recent murder. All in all, a good read!

The story has everything I love to read about: dark family secrets, strong women, hidden truths, celebrity gossip, murky back alleys, powerful people hiding the truth, unsolved crimes past and present- this book has all this and so much more besides.

Salma Lowe runs a true crime bus tour in Hollywood, a job that is all too close to home as her filmstsr sister Tawney (aka The hurricane blonde’) was murdered in the 1990s. When another woman who looked like Tawney is found dead in the same location, Salma decides she has to find out what happened.

I was absolutely engrossed by The Hurricane Blonde’ and really enjoyed Halley’s engaging writing style. It’s page turning, edge of your seat reading where you can’t stop until you have a resolution. Halley Sutton definitely brings something fresh and new to the crime thriller scene and I certainly be buying her books in the future.

4.5 stars
Dark and compulsive reading, this is an intense thriller. I found the character of Salma addictive - her world and her view on it made for compelling reading. Her narration at times unreliable but so emotional- her drive for the truth coming at such a price. The dark secrets of Hollywood simmering under the surface with people, both male and female complicit in the truth. This is one tense story and one that probably lies in part in reality.

This was RIGHT up my street!

A very twisty, interesting, almost noir-y thriller, set in Hollywood. What more could you want for a summer read?

A former child star becomes obsessed with the man that she thinks killed two women in very similar circumstances, one of whom is her sister. There are lots of twists, explosive family secrets, an exploration of the true-crime industry. It was a really fun and engaging read.

Definitely one to lie by the pool with!

Compelling,Immersive..
The glamorous yet deadly lure of Hollywood beckons in this dark, compelling and immersive thriller. Salma, now a Hollywood true crime tour guide, knows only too well what the deadly side of Hollywood looks like - she has experienced it on a level far too close to home, as sister to the so called ‘Hurricane Blonde’, murdered in the nineties. When an incident with uncanny similarities to her sister’s murder occurs, Salma finds herself thrust into the seedier side of LA. With a deft pen the author creates a both seductive and menacing atmosphere, in a well imagined setting, with a credible and well crafted cast and an engaging, pacy plot peppered with twists.

The premise of this sounded right up my street and boy did it deliver! I love the golden age of Hollywood and think everyone's a bit fascinated by the glamour and the secrets that went on back then. The books feels really well researched and brings the past to life so vividly. The characters aren't always the most likeable but they are well written and fleshed out and act in ways that are true to their characters. There wasn't as much of the suspense and thriller aspect as I'd have liked but I was so caught up in the setting that I really didn't mind!

Hollywood has a mystical quality and the lives, and deaths, of their stars hold an attraction for many. I’ve visited a few times and am fascinated by the Hollywood of the early years and although this is set in multiple timelines (flashbacks) from 1996 to the present, for me it had the feel of the 1950’s / 60’s. With references to a number of real life deaths, people and places it’s clear the author has done her research well. Well written and narrated in the first person by Salma I found this an engrossing read, albeit Salma was so badly affected by events she wasn’t always a reliable narrator, and finished it in a day.

Briefly, Salma Lowe was a child star and born to a Hollywood golden couple but went off the rails, struggling to deal with her life in the public eye and always feeling overshadowed by her glamorous sister Tawney. However, when her sister is murdered in her home, and her murderer isn’t found, Salma is the only person who thinks Tawney’s former fiancé Cal Turner killed her. Twenty years later, and 12 years sober, Salma is working as a tour guide and rather morbidly takes tourists to spots where Hollywood stars were killed, including that of Tawney. But when her latest tour results in finding another actress dead in the pool of Jacaranda House, Tawneys former home, it all comes rushing back and she determines to prove that Cal is Tawney’s killer.

The book is full of great characters, both good and bad; Salma was broken but fighting back and how she deals with some of the things that have happened to her, and the shock revelations she discovers, proves she is stronger than she thinks. Cal, well what can I say, one of the most misogynistic characters I’ve read for a long time, I hated him. The treatment of women in Hollywood was quite upsetting at times and it’s clear that with few exceptions men hold the power. Almost everyone is out for themselves, no matter at what cost to themselves or others. An exciting foray into the dark side of Hollywood that no amount of glitter and glamour can hide.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC to review!

3 stars!

I added this to my TBR a while back and jumped at the chance when I saw it appear on here. I loved the sound of this and was so excited to read it. Despite my rating, I did like this but I just wasn't that engaged into the story as much as I had hoped. I found myself losing interest in the middle of the story, despite the beginning and the end pulling all of my focus and interest into it. The characters aren't exactly ones you like which makes a great read haha also quite an interesting look into the more darker side of Hollywood.

The premise of this one sounded interesting with the Hollywood film industry backdrop and a look at an up and coming actresses death. Told in the first person and with flashback chapters it should have been a good read but I just didn’t find myself that engaged with the story and felt like the murder mystery was kind of a secondary storyline and I felt myself skim reading a lot of it towards the end.

Thanks to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fantastic read. You are drawn into Salma's mind, soaking up her experiences, memories and suspicions. You can't help but get caught up in the past and present, the Hollywood glamour and how the story of The Hurricane Blonde and those around her could have been true.

This author gives me TJR vibes, I just got wrapped up in the story and couldn't put it down.

4⭐️
“A former child starlet is plunged back into the dangerous glitter of Hollywood after discovering a young actress's body in this scorching thriller about the deadly sides of both fame and family”

I do love reading a good murder mystery especially involving fame and celebrities and this one hit! Lots of gossip and drama to keep you entertained but you can still feel the emotion through it. It gives a really interesting insight into real life stories of Hollywood and seeing what really goes on. Really intriguing and fast paced thriller!

Thank you to @netgalley @allisonandbusby @halleysutton25 for the e-arc of this book, all opinions are my own.