Babes in Tinseltown: A Mystery of Hollywood's Golden Age

by Sheri Cobb South

Frankie Foster is the sheltered daughter of a proper Southern lady and a prominent judge, but she really wants to be a movie star. In spite of her family’s misgivings, she boards a train and heads for Hollywood in search of fame and fortune. Frankie eventually finds work at Monumental Pictures as an extra in a swashbuckling costume picture. Unfortunately, her career threatens to be short-lived when producer Arthur Cohen staggers onto the soundstage in an apparent drunken rage and drops dead at her feet. The police dismiss the death as a heart attack, but then, they don’t know about the quarrel Frankie heard between the producer and his brother/partner. With filming suspended indefinitely, Frankie must discover the truth if she is to save the picture and her fledgling career. "Sheri Cobb South has a witty and refreshingly original voice. If you haven't sampled any of her books, you've missed a real treat." --Romance Reviews Today

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

238 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2012

Reviews

[Fayo Kola · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me hooked. From the moment I meet Frankie I wanted to learn more. Learning about the golden age was a plus. Watching her fall in love with her boo was the best. Her relentless pursuit of the killer was very endearing. The only thing I didn't love was cfinding out that there was no book 2 and this was not a series. I thought for sure we would follow them on their next adventure in Hollywood or wherever they go. So Sheri if you ever want to write book 2 I would love to read it.

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. As much as I wanted to love this book, I just couldn't do more than like it. The concept is great, but there's something slightly lacking in the execution. On the plus side, the author doesn't shoehorn period colloquialisms into every paragraph in order to set the scene, which is a problem a lot of authors seem to have. On the minus side, Frankie, our heroine, is so naive that it's often cloying. She doesn't come off as particularly bright, unlike most would be crime-solvers in books, but she's got Moxie. Unfortunately this means that most of the time she seems to trip over pieces of evidence (and the eventual answer to the mystery) more than actually discover them. I would have loved to see her developed more, through most of the book she seemed to have about as much depth as the letters on the Hollywoodland sign. I also would have liked to see more backstory for her roguish chum Mitch. At a little over 200 pages, Babes In Tinseltown wouldn't have suffered at all from a few dozen pages of exposition scattered through the text. There are teases of depth here and there, and I wish we could have gotten something a little meatier. The haphazard way in which the case comes together wasn't particularly satisfying, and the solution seemed to come out of left field, as if the author didn't know whodunnit herself until that very moment. It's oddly fluffy, despite some heavy content, including illegal abortion and the seedier side of the casting process in Golden Era Hollywood. All in all, I'd call it a decent beach read.

[Sharon Bengel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't care for this much at all. Far too light a treatment of a real Hollywood golden age issue of starlets having abortions. Also if Frankie is that naive how did her Southern judge father ever let her out of his sight? The era is fascinating and this is much too light on the period detail. I kept forgetting what year it was supposed to be. At the end I remembered the title and it's flippancy just kinda made me angry. Steer clear.

[Cathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unpolished, but amusing. There's definitely an audience for both the style and the setting.

[Shannon Rondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book. It was very lighthearted and easy to read. I enjoy solving a mystery, so this book was entertaining. I just didn't like the abrupt ending.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, I liked the characters. The setting was one that I haven't spent much time with (in?) and so it was a nice change.

Closer to a 3 and a half stars rating than a full 4 for me.