Four dark novels of Hollywood ambition, corruption, obsession and murder, where fame has a price, everyone wants something, and the dream factory can turn deadly.
ASK FOR LOIS by Jack Matcha/John Barclay
Lois Cramer is a nightclub singer who wants into television fast, and she knows exactly what currency Hollywood accepts. Kept by a club owner who pimps her to his business friends, Lois works nights onstage and days trading sex for access, protection and momentum. When a television producer takes an interest, she thinks she may finally be crossing the line from call girl to star. But the men who have been selling her body are not finished cashing in.
THE LAST LAUGH by Charles Einstein
It is the mid-1950s, the dawn of television, and Hollywood reporter Sam Prior thinks his job is simple: review shows, file copy and stay out of trouble. Then he is assigned to profile Carl Anda, America’s top comic and its most impossible personality. Anda’s ego, tantrums and ravenous need for attention pull Sam into the frantic backstage bedlam of early television just as Sam’s own life begins to come apart.
HOLLYWOOD STARLET by Don James
Kima Shannon arrives in 1960s Hollywood determined to become a star and ready to play the dirty game the town demands. Men scout her like territory, women see her as a threat, casting calls become invitations to bed, and career opportunities depend on parties where power and desire blur every boundary. Kima keeps pushing for the fame she believes she deserves—and for the chance to show every man who ever used her who owns the spotlight now.
ROOT OF EVIL by James Cross
Jim McCabe is an ex-GI trying to make a living as a writer in Hollywood when he discovers a chest of century-old gold coins buried in his backyard. He decides to keep the treasure, smuggle it to Europe and sell it for a fortune. But other people want the gold, too—and they are willing to kill the people Jim loves to get it. An Edgar Award-winning tale of lust, greed, intrigue and murder.
Charles Einstein, Don James, Jack barton, Jack Matcha, James Cross /
Anthologies, Crime Fiction, Murder Mystery, Mysteries & Thrillers, Thriller
