Beverly Hills Noir: Crime, Sin, & Scandal in 90210

by Scott Huver

Beverly Hills Noir explores the city’s true crime history, delving deep inside cases that made headlines, scandals that engulfed Hollywood legends, and more strange-but-true tales that could only happen in the 90210.

Beverly Hills Noir chronicles an assortment of jaw-dropping true crime stories spanning the legendary city’s history, each with oh-so-90210 twists—including a high-profile murder mystery in the city’s most extravagant mansion, the daring exploits of a handsome cat burglar with movie star looks, a toxic Tinseltown love triangle that ended in gunplay, a brazen Rodeo Drive jewelry store holdup with tragically stunning finale, an Oscar nominated actress on shoplifting spree and more—complete with major roles and countless cameos by Hollywood idols and cultural icons.

A gripping, century-long tour of the glamorous city’s shadowy underbelly through crimes and misdemeanors as over-the-top as the city itself, Beverly Hills Noir collects the kinds of stories you’d expect to be swapped if James Ellroy and Dominick Dunne had met Jackie Collins and Ryan Murphy for cocktails at the Polo Lounge. It’s Sunset Boulevard and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood turned sordid, face-down-in-the-pool reality.

Genres: True Crime

468 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This should have been a page-turner - who doesn't want to read about crimes taking place in the heart of Hollywood amongst the rich & famous? Each chapter usually started off well but quickly became bogged down as there was just too much detail about every aspect of anyone who appeared in the story. Sometimes less is more.

I did enjoy some parts though. The most interesting story related to Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin & I'm not talking about the fight at the Polo Lounge. I loved the story about Sinatra finding out that Dean Martin had secretly called the police on his own party as he wanted them all to clear off home! Hilarious.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Post Hill Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

[Haerlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Description
Beverly Hills Noir explores the city’s true crime history, delving deep inside cases that made headlines, scandals that engulfed Hollywood legends, and more strange-but-true tales that could only happen in the 90210.

Beverly Hills Noir chronicles an assortment of jaw-dropping true crime stories spanning the legendary city’s history, each with oh-so-90210 twists—including a high-profile murder mystery in the city’s most extravagant mansion, the daring exploits of a handsome cat burglar with movie star looks, a toxic Tinseltown love triangle that ended in gunplay, a brazen Rodeo Drive jewelry store holdup with tragically stunning finale, an Oscar nominated actress on shoplifting spree and more—complete with major roles and countless cameos by Hollywood idols and cultural icons.

A gripping, century-long tour of the glamorous city’s shadowy underbelly through crimes and misdemeanors as over-the-top as the city itself, Beverly Hills Noir collects the kinds of stories you’d expect to be swapped if James Ellroy and Dominick Dunne had met Jackie Collins and Ryan Murphy for cocktails at the Polo Lounge. It’s Sunset Boulevard and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood turned sordid, face-down-in-the-pool reality.

My Take:
This resource is excellent for those fascinated by Hollywood history or seeking reference material on Hollywood's white-collar crimes. Its tone is closer to "The Thomas Crown Affair" rather than "The Black Dahlia." If you're in search of case studies presented with a somewhat wistful angle, this might just be what you're looking for.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Thank you to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for an ARC in Exhange for an honest review**

If you’re on the hunt for TONS of detail over 400+ pages on different crimes committed (allegedly) in Beverly Hills from early-Hollywood until up until Winona Ryder’s thieving spree, you’re in luck.

I lived in LA for a long time and know many of these places discussed in the book (not the individual houses of course) but the areas, streets, etc. so I rather enjoyed the trip down memory lane. I would have preferred 200 less pages but that is likely due to the fact that the main story I was interested in was Winona Ryder’s and that was the last chapter. I lost interest early on and skimmed much of the book which I don’t do very often at all. That being said, I think I was expecting something else. It turns out that this book is exactly what it says it is and I am highly confident that the author (also a Hollywood reporter) knows what he is talking about.

[Darel Krieger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written but surprising in that there were so few stories. Hollywood has a long history of crime from all walks of life. There had to be a plethora of material to write about and for Huver to pick only a few was somewhat of a let down. Buth with that said the ones he did highlight were very interesting.

[Theresa Sivelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. I will say that the book started out a little slow. I think this was in part because I really didn't know the first few but they were interesting. I liked that the stories started out with early times tales and ended with one more recent.

[Odette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.
It has a mix of material and the level of depth and detail is incredible. Ideal for dipping in and out of if you haven’t got much time.

[Marianne Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Timc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many irrelevant details. It was a bit of a slog.