June 15, 2020
More interested in astronomy than the silver screen in 1938, 17-year-old Kate Hildebrand is nevertheless packed off to Hollywood to live with her grandfather, Oliver Banks, having no idea that the legendary silent film star is a recluse in dire financial straits. Surrounded at his mansion by her grandfather’s young male boarders—all aspiring actors—and neighbor to a glamorous singer and her ingénue daughter, Kate soon finds herself enmeshed in a film production. After one of the boarders is murdered, the clever teen dons her sleuthing cap, but doing so means facing tragic family memories, including her parents’ deaths and her own brush with infamy. Black (Girl at the Grave) enlivens the novel, set in Tinseltown’s Golden Age, with background about film production and history, while snappy dialogue focuses on gender imbalances found in 1930s Hollywood (“that, my friend, is why all the movies are stereotyped claptrap”). Entertainingly conveying the glitz of Kate’s Hollywood life and romantic interests, this breezy whodunit is a fun historical escape with satisfactory twists. Ages 13–up. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary.