Murder in Hollywood
(Opal Laplume Mystery #2)
by Millicent Binks
Lights, camera, action, and… murder?
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
Her performance was so wooden I half expected termites to start a union.
I don’t trust that woman. She’s an executioner who uses blood for fountain-pen ink.
‘Sounds like he chased after money like a dog after sausages,’ Opal commented. ‘He did. Relentless, single-minded, and with a fair bit of drool involved,’ Virginia added.
There is a lot of pride in getting older. It comes with the perk of feeling the veil of hogwash lift, all the societal pressures that you’re supposed to believe in and adhere to becomes piffle. You wish your younger self had the same level of clarity and confidence.
My Review:
This was an entertaining, amusing, and easy-to-follow cozy read, populated by a clever pooch and a copious cast of largely unlikable yet uniquely authentic and quirky secondary characters. I had not read the previous book, but I didn’t feel that this hampered my understanding or enjoyment, as Opal’s relevant history was provided in ample detail. The storylines were well-plotted and smartly merged, just in time for our eagle-eyed heroine to save the day.
Millicent is a writer, former costume designer, and burlesque performer from Suffolk. She now resides in North London with her husband and two cats, Queenie and Tarquin.
She holds a BA (Hons) from Wimbledon College of Art in Costume Interpretation. Her writing credits include a column in The London Evening Standard about her life as a burlesque starlet. She wrote the cover story “Alter Shego’s” for The Sunday Times Magazine, in which she disguised herself as different women, took self-portraits, went out, introduced herself to random gentlemen, and documented their reactions. This was optioned for TV by NBCUniversal.
