Constance Sayer’s latest book has a lot of her literary trademarks : time slip narratives; a mystery to solve; magic realism and romance. She places her story in the world of Hollywood and film-making, with two main characters in actress Gemma Turner and young film-maker Chris. Gemma is staying in 1960’s London with her rock star lover Charlie Hicks when she is offered an unexpected film opportunity. Until now Gemma has been making a series of surfing films based in California, but she’s been longing to make something that has more critical acclaim. French director Thierry Valden is part of the nouvelle vague or new wave movement and has offered her the lead role in his next film Le’trange Lune a vampire film set in 19th Century France. He seems open to changes, often working with improvisation so her long held skills as a writer might be needed too. However, when she gets to Thierry’s chateau the mood seems to have changed. She is greeted by Manon Valden, who warns Gemma off her husband immediately which isn’t very welcoming. Thierry doesn’t seem like the man she met before and when she reads the up to date script it still has the same stilted dialogue, despite the potential changes she had sent him. When she finally speaks to Thierry alone, he makes it clear that something has changed. He had envisioned more of a collaboration both on the script and possibly in the bedroom, but Le’trange Lune will be his final film and he can’t afford to take risks. Gemma will have other opportunities for scriptwriting but he won’t. The next day as they’re filming in the nearby town of Amboise, Gemma has a scene where she runs down a darkened and cobbled alleyway, seconds after calling action the camera has suddenly lost Gemma. Has she fallen on the cobbles? Are the dark shadows concealing her? Maybe she’s walked off in a huff. Yet it seems Gemma is genuinely gone and as they look back over the scene on film, frame by frame, she’s disappeared in front of their eyes.

Christopher has had a strange fascination with the actress Gemma Turner since he was a child. Now at film school, his attachment to the actress stands out because she was never one of the greats, students aren’t usually hung up on minor actresses from a handful of surf films. He remembers the day he first saw her, in a hotel where vintage black and white photos of actors are hung next to every door. In a very chaotic and traumatic childhood, this was one of those moments where he and his mum were without a roof over their heads. Chris could sense his mum was edgy and on the verge of a mood change, but as they approached their room and she saw their photo she flew into a rage. She pulled the picture of Gemma Turner off the wall and smashed it, shouting personal insults and expletives. What was her link to the actress? Knowing Chris’s fascination with Gemma, his girlfriend Ivy and fellow student Ivy comes to him with a strange proposition. Every ten years Gemma’s final film Le’trange Lune is shown to a select group of 65 guests at a randomly chosen cinema. Ivy’s father is one of the 65, but for this viewing he has offered Ivy his two place. They must wear a mask and cloak, but most importantly of all they must never approach or try to identify other members, nor can they talk about what they’ve seen. Chris doesn’t know what to make of the film. This is a rather basic or formulaic vampire movie, but there’s something odd about Gemma’s performance. While in some places it’s fairly average, in other scenes there’s an incredible intensity to her acting. It’s almost as if she’s genuinely terrified.

I found the book a little slow at first, but once we reach Gemma’s disappearance I was hooked by this strange story. As we reach Gemma’s timeline in France and Chris has started investigating her disappearance several decades later, the pace really picks up and there are enough strange and impossible happenings for the reader to start wondering what’s coming next. To be honest it felt like anything might happen! I loved the sense of evil created by the film - the strange melancholy that falls over those who see it, something that worsens if you keep going back every ten years. The rumours that the film changes in that decade are intriguing and suggest someone is still behind the lens. Could one of the 65 be playing tricks on the rest? Perhaps not letting on they have extra scenes that Thierry discarded, or that they have found an actress who is the double of Gemma Turner. Is something magical at work here? Despite all the warnings, I did understand Chris’s need to investigate, even when those he interviews start to feel the consequences of talking. This is such a clever concept and the author creates such a sense of mystery with wonderful period detail, especially in the 19th Century when there’s much discussion on the restriction and discomfort of women’s fashion especially in the summer. I also enjoyed 1960’s London where Gemma’s lover Charlie is part of a Fleetwood Mac-esque band where partners are swapped as readily as song lyrics. There’s even an unexpected romance woven within this magical and unexpected series of times and worlds. What I wanted to see more than anything was for Chris to overcome the trauma of his childhood and fulfil his potential, wherever and whenever that might be.

This mix of fantasy, mystery and horror makes for a unique mix and one that I don't currently have within my Library stock.

"The Star and the Strange Moon" is a novel that combines fantasy, horror, historical and mystery elements, written by Constance Sayers.

What a captivating novel! I admit I started the reading expecting something different, but in the end I was still enchanted by the book. "The Star and the Strange Moon" is a dark, intriguing and complex story about ambition, obsession, loss and the love of cinema. A mysterious, seductive, and ambiguous tale that spans multiple timelines, seemingly disconnected from each other, developing incredible connections. A book embellished by extremely evocative, elegant and lyrical prose, accompanied by a slow and placid pace, that takes its time to build each situation. I loved the more horror and fantasy elements of the novel! Gemma and Christopher, the two protagonists with their respective third person povs, won me over. They are two complex, troubled characters, broken in their own way, portrayed exquisitely. The only aspect that did not fully convince me was the romance, in my opinion too rushed, but otherwise I cannot express anything but compliments!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What stood out to me: the concept, the writing, the clues, the main characters and the ending.

The Stars and the Strange Moon is an amazing book, that is part mystery part horror. It follows an actress, Gemma Turner, who mysteriously vanishes into a film set in 1968 and a boy, Christopher Kent, who investigates her disappearance. I don’t know how someone could come up with this concept but Constance Sayers did and she wrote it perfectly. Although the start (first 40-50%) had a lot of world building it, it was worth it! The pacing got a lot better and the characters grew and became more three dimensional. I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book, all thoughts are mine.

DO NOT START THIS UNTIL YOU CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULES AS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!!…
Loved it