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Murder in Tinseltown: A Hollywood Era Choose-Your-Own-Story Mystery
Can your sleuthing skills help identify the murderer of a Hollywood starlet?Los Angeles, 1958.
The biggest, brightest and best names in Hollywood have gathered at the Royale Premiere Hotel on the eve of the biggest awards show of the year.
Things take a devilish turn when leading lady Blanche Aikerman is found murdered in her room.
With a list of suspects as long as Aikerman’s accolades and credits, YOU are thrust into the action and must fully immerse yourself in the role of an LAPD homicide detective on the scene to hunt, capture and correctly charge the culprit.
Blending all the fun and appeal of the traditional hard-boiled detective story with a classic choose-your-own-story model, the book throws you right into the thick of the action. Larger-than-life characters, cunning suspects and puzzling misdirections will try to throw you off the scent as you are presented with a series of choices at every turn of the page.
Be cautious during your some decisions will lead you to a murderer, just not the right murderer…
Transporting the reader right into the heart of 1950s Los Angeles, Murder in Tinseltown is a brand-new, interactive novel full of head-scratching interactions, multiple outcomes and clues set against the glamorous backdrop of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
The biggest, brightest and best names in Hollywood have gathered at the Royale Premiere Hotel on the eve of the biggest awards show of the year.
Things take a devilish turn when leading lady Blanche Aikerman is found murdered in her room.
With a list of suspects as long as Aikerman’s accolades and credits, YOU are thrust into the action and must fully immerse yourself in the role of an LAPD homicide detective on the scene to hunt, capture and correctly charge the culprit.
Blending all the fun and appeal of the traditional hard-boiled detective story with a classic choose-your-own-story model, the book throws you right into the thick of the action. Larger-than-life characters, cunning suspects and puzzling misdirections will try to throw you off the scent as you are presented with a series of choices at every turn of the page.
Be cautious during your some decisions will lead you to a murderer, just not the right murderer…
Transporting the reader right into the heart of 1950s Los Angeles, Murder in Tinseltown is a brand-new, interactive novel full of head-scratching interactions, multiple outcomes and clues set against the glamorous backdrop of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 21, 2024
25 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
November 9, 2024
This was a great idea, but poor execution, unfortunately. I really wanted to like this, and in theory this would make for a great gift book, but the choose-your-own-adventure storylines just don't mash together as well as they should. There's no seamless blending of chapters as you choose different investigation routes: I had a character die and then re-appear alive and well later, I have discovered a murder weapon at the beginning for it to be again found by someone else later in the story. And the suspects all follow a very similar set of actions, which then results in you being presented with the same options to choose from over and over again, and that gets boring after a while.
I really wish this worked just a bit better, but there's potential here if the story is re-worked a bit.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really wish this worked just a bit better, but there's potential here if the story is re-worked a bit.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 19, 2024
FYI: I wrote these notes as I read the book, so I just wrote them as and when it happened.
📖
Even though the main character is a police officer they don't take control of the situation when it becomes clear its a crime scene and lets the hotel manager tell another guest that there was a murder, which is definitely not something a real police officer would want someone doing when they don't know yet who murdered them. And the manager is also just banging on the guests door in the hallway where anyone could hear him talking about the incident. Then the manager asks the officer for their discretion?
The officer hasn't immeditely called for back up to get the scene secured and ready for forensics and the hotel locked down. And then he gets up on the bedside table with his dirty shoes, right next to the body! And he grabs the murder weapon... I don't care if he believes he didn't get his fingerprints on it... You are RUINING EVIDENCE. And then he approaches the victims mother, still holding the bloody weapon! And then manhandles it safely into his pocket. Then he says he has 'no evidence this is the murder weapon' !!!
None of the dialogue is believable and it isn't written the best.
As much as the fire would be serious, I dont believe for one moment that a single jerry can explosion could cause a hole in a building. I even googled this and watched videos of jerry cans exploding. Also- if it WAS strong enough to cause that, in what world is evacuating the building the WRONG answer. Also the fire department don't make anyone evacuate either. The murderer could have already left the building, and in the real world crimes aren't solved on the same night. Also the room should be engulfed in flames after that happened, especially if there is a hole in the building feeding it oxygen...
'The logical conclusion, then, is that Peter von Hiltz was the intended victim (of the petrol bomb).' I strongly disagree.
Why was Peter running?
The officer then finds another knife at some point and puts that happily away in his pocket too! Not just a problem with DNA but also if they ends up being evidence the person who owns it can deny that it was found in their posession because you moved it! No pictures taken of where it was found or anything!
Why was Walter running?
There are typical dead ends you come to when taking wrong choices which is expected for Choose Your Own books but you regularly end up going down a path you have already been down before which is very annoying. A massive example being that I followed a certain character to the airport and that character ended up dying. Then later on that character is back in the hotel, alive. And again I am forced to ask: WHY WERE THEY RUNNING?
'You tell him you’re not interested in executing him, unless he’s done something wrong.' Erm, what???
One moment the captain is saying the officer better have a good reason to arrest a character because of how infamous they are, the next moment they are falsely accusing them of the crime so that he can get the case resolved and get famous. And then they revoke the arrest of the man??? He ran from an officer and pulled a gun on him! He's committed a crime.
And then he gets car-chased by his own colleagues for some reason?
‘If they catch us, we’re finished. Our feet won’t hit the ground . They’ll strap us to the electric chair tonight. Both of us. You’re an accessory now.’ ...
They go back to Peter's room... and there's even a room left to go back into.
'Captain Barclay almost faints', that's funny (The author wasn't trying to be funny).
The revealed murderer says something along the lines of 'what kind of person would I be if I didnt take responsibility for my actions' but they literally were happy to let the officer take all the blame. Oh and of course none of the police officers in the room were able to prevent them from grabbing one of their guns.
Going back to my point about something happening that contradicts an event that already happened - remember when I mentioned that the officer puts the bloody weapon in his pocket? At the end of the book, another officer it taking it out of it's original hiding place. Maybe don't have the officer touch the weapon at all at the beginning and then this particular problem wouldnt occur.
When I finished I was left wondering who set the gas trap in Peter's room and I tried to go back and find out which then lead me to finding another path where someone completely different admits to the murder? WHAT? What is the point of this book if there isn't a solid narrative?!
Still didn't get my answer about who exploded Peters room. *sigh*
📖
Even though the main character is a police officer they don't take control of the situation when it becomes clear its a crime scene and lets the hotel manager tell another guest that there was a murder, which is definitely not something a real police officer would want someone doing when they don't know yet who murdered them. And the manager is also just banging on the guests door in the hallway where anyone could hear him talking about the incident. Then the manager asks the officer for their discretion?
The officer hasn't immeditely called for back up to get the scene secured and ready for forensics and the hotel locked down. And then he gets up on the bedside table with his dirty shoes, right next to the body! And he grabs the murder weapon... I don't care if he believes he didn't get his fingerprints on it... You are RUINING EVIDENCE. And then he approaches the victims mother, still holding the bloody weapon! And then manhandles it safely into his pocket. Then he says he has 'no evidence this is the murder weapon' !!!
None of the dialogue is believable and it isn't written the best.
As much as the fire would be serious, I dont believe for one moment that a single jerry can explosion could cause a hole in a building. I even googled this and watched videos of jerry cans exploding. Also- if it WAS strong enough to cause that, in what world is evacuating the building the WRONG answer. Also the fire department don't make anyone evacuate either. The murderer could have already left the building, and in the real world crimes aren't solved on the same night. Also the room should be engulfed in flames after that happened, especially if there is a hole in the building feeding it oxygen...
'The logical conclusion, then, is that Peter von Hiltz was the intended victim (of the petrol bomb).' I strongly disagree.
Why was Peter running?
The officer then finds another knife at some point and puts that happily away in his pocket too! Not just a problem with DNA but also if they ends up being evidence the person who owns it can deny that it was found in their posession because you moved it! No pictures taken of where it was found or anything!
Why was Walter running?
There are typical dead ends you come to when taking wrong choices which is expected for Choose Your Own books but you regularly end up going down a path you have already been down before which is very annoying. A massive example being that I followed a certain character to the airport and that character ended up dying. Then later on that character is back in the hotel, alive. And again I am forced to ask: WHY WERE THEY RUNNING?
'You tell him you’re not interested in executing him, unless he’s done something wrong.' Erm, what???
One moment the captain is saying the officer better have a good reason to arrest a character because of how infamous they are, the next moment they are falsely accusing them of the crime so that he can get the case resolved and get famous. And then they revoke the arrest of the man??? He ran from an officer and pulled a gun on him! He's committed a crime.
And then he gets car-chased by his own colleagues for some reason?
‘If they catch us, we’re finished. Our feet won’t hit the ground . They’ll strap us to the electric chair tonight. Both of us. You’re an accessory now.’ ...
They go back to Peter's room... and there's even a room left to go back into.
'Captain Barclay almost faints', that's funny (The author wasn't trying to be funny).
The revealed murderer says something along the lines of 'what kind of person would I be if I didnt take responsibility for my actions' but they literally were happy to let the officer take all the blame. Oh and of course none of the police officers in the room were able to prevent them from grabbing one of their guns.
Going back to my point about something happening that contradicts an event that already happened - remember when I mentioned that the officer puts the bloody weapon in his pocket? At the end of the book, another officer it taking it out of it's original hiding place. Maybe don't have the officer touch the weapon at all at the beginning and then this particular problem wouldnt occur.
When I finished I was left wondering who set the gas trap in Peter's room and I tried to go back and find out which then lead me to finding another path where someone completely different admits to the murder? WHAT? What is the point of this book if there isn't a solid narrative?!
Still didn't get my answer about who exploded Peters room. *sigh*
Read
February 17, 2025DNF @50% - This sounded fun in theory, but too many choices forced me back to pages I already read. I'm not invested in the mystery and the writing is dull.
September 21, 2025
I loved the concept of this book but I thought it failed at the execution. I kept going over the same parts and when i had already interrogated a witness or suspect I would see them chapters later and none of it happened.
November 12, 2024
I love the idea of the book, but it needed slightly different execution.
I read the whole thing to give it a fair chance, and discovered that there are only really two different branches to the story and they lead you to the same end anyway. Many of the “choices” kill you off forcing you to go the way the book wants, and also there are a few inconsistencies such as characters being killed off and then being alive in another scene, and the same murder weapon being found by different people - it just didn’t add up properly.
Honestly it’s still good fun, but I wouldn’t pay hardback price for it, i’d wait for the paperback.
I read the whole thing to give it a fair chance, and discovered that there are only really two different branches to the story and they lead you to the same end anyway. Many of the “choices” kill you off forcing you to go the way the book wants, and also there are a few inconsistencies such as characters being killed off and then being alive in another scene, and the same murder weapon being found by different people - it just didn’t add up properly.
Honestly it’s still good fun, but I wouldn’t pay hardback price for it, i’d wait for the paperback.
July 22, 2025
I should’ve read the reviews and I regret buying this book. The writing is so lazy, I am 100% sure the author never read what he was writing and that the publishers never read the book. Tell me why I spent a majority of the book talking to a character that had died in the beginning of the story, the weapon I found and hid away was then found by other people in the location I had found it in. This book makes no sense PLEASE DONT BUY IT. I wish I could get a refund…
March 5, 2025
The book was good in theory, and the murderer I ended up choosing was a complete shock, but there were a few inconsistencies such as a knife that was found and pocketed by the main character detective, and then later found by the crime scene technicians after the murderer had been arrested for admitting to the crime. This is why I gave the book 3 stars instead of 4.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2025
I will forever pick a choose your own adventure book when I see one, but this is a pass for me. Better reviews and reviewers have said what I’m thinking, so I’m leaving it at that. Good try, but needs more.
November 14, 2024
|| Thank you to NetGalley and HarperNorth for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review ! ||
I really enjoyed the idea of yourself being a detective and investigating a murder of a 1950's top actress, and having to choose my own actions ; but turns out it was the only thing that I liked here.
The story was on itself as simple as it could possibly can be. Example: the first time I've read the book, I must have taken the quickest actions as I've never went over the 55% mark on my book and finished the story. Going back to beginning and selecting other actions, I've been taken to other characters but they really felt like they were here for a quota of pages and "suspects" (they aren't really). The murderer is by the way quickly apprehended and the end bye this is the end of the book just try other actions to see more! But they'll still get you back to the same murderer and ending! There's also not much of investigation you can do, as it's always dead ends or plainly given.
There's a LOT of chapters were you -stupidly- die. A lot of chapters being totally incoherent in a way the detective (us, reader) acts : one moment he's all wanting to do everything by the book and follow the law, and the other moment he do very reckless and improbable acts a clean cop shouldn't do at all (trying to get away from other corps with a car chase? Using a person as a human shield??). There's also incoherence in the chapters itself, like when you select an action you're getting into von Hiltz's room, then getting back to the lobby doing stuff and... asking for von Hiltz's room number? Which by the way exploded and it's not talked at all anywhere else than that first chapter action I got, and it even once went as a hidding base when everything should by under ashes and water!
So overall : the idea was good, but the execution was badly done and not complex enough to get invested in the story. You either have a choice by dying, or going over lenghty useless informations, or following the direction the author wanted you to take.
I really enjoyed the idea of yourself being a detective and investigating a murder of a 1950's top actress, and having to choose my own actions ; but turns out it was the only thing that I liked here.
The story was on itself as simple as it could possibly can be. Example: the first time I've read the book, I must have taken the quickest actions as I've never went over the 55% mark on my book and finished the story. Going back to beginning and selecting other actions, I've been taken to other characters but they really felt like they were here for a quota of pages and "suspects" (they aren't really). The murderer is by the way quickly apprehended and the end bye this is the end of the book just try other actions to see more! But they'll still get you back to the same murderer and ending! There's also not much of investigation you can do, as it's always dead ends or plainly given.
There's a LOT of chapters were you -stupidly- die. A lot of chapters being totally incoherent in a way the detective (us, reader) acts : one moment he's all wanting to do everything by the book and follow the law, and the other moment he do very reckless and improbable acts a clean cop shouldn't do at all (trying to get away from other corps with a car chase? Using a person as a human shield??). There's also incoherence in the chapters itself, like when you select an action you're getting into von Hiltz's room, then getting back to the lobby doing stuff and... asking for von Hiltz's room number? Which by the way exploded and it's not talked at all anywhere else than that first chapter action I got, and it even once went as a hidding base when everything should by under ashes and water!
So overall : the idea was good, but the execution was badly done and not complex enough to get invested in the story. You either have a choice by dying, or going over lenghty useless informations, or following the direction the author wanted you to take.
February 1, 2025
I'll be honest, I was leaning toward a 2 with this one. The mystery itself wasn't a great one, some parts of the "choose your own" loop around and it doesn't make sense, and overall while I am obsessed with the concept, the delivery just wasn't there.
But at the same time, despite all of that, I was entertained and that's exactly what I wanted from it, so boosting it up to a 3 because of that. It may not have had the best writing, but for 90 minutes I had an amusing time and sometimes, that alone is enough.
So if you do decide to pick this one up, don't go in expecting the best mystery ever or to feel like a brilliant detective by the end. Just think of it as a great way to turn off the brain and take a break from all your other reads for an hour or two.
But at the same time, despite all of that, I was entertained and that's exactly what I wanted from it, so boosting it up to a 3 because of that. It may not have had the best writing, but for 90 minutes I had an amusing time and sometimes, that alone is enough.
So if you do decide to pick this one up, don't go in expecting the best mystery ever or to feel like a brilliant detective by the end. Just think of it as a great way to turn off the brain and take a break from all your other reads for an hour or two.
December 10, 2024
For those of a certain generation, Choose Your Own Adventure books and then Fighting Fantasy adventure game books were the latest word in interactive storytelling. Whilst computer games have caught up - and largely replaced them - there is still a joy in a well told story where You are the Hero.
This book is designed in the same vein. You are a Homicide detective in 1950s LA who stumbles across the murder of famous actress on the eve of a fictional Not-Oscars award ceremony. It’s a setting with potential and an idea which, whilst potentially complicated, would if well executed be very satisfying.
Sadly, the execution isn’t that great. There are a few obvious issues on a couple of play throughs. One is that due to a limited number of option paragraphs to turn to the book sometimes assumes events have taken place or haven’t taken place in the text which, if the reader has plotted a slightly different course is odd or confusing.
Another is that the reader is given fewer options than you might want. Long chapters mean that you are often told what your character is doing. Limited options at the end of each piece of text sometimes confront you with two options, neither of which are what you might actually want to do.
The biggest issue, however, has to be the investigation itself. There is no real option for a structured thought through investigation based on evidence gathering. You are expected to chase suspects and act on hunches - not necessarily an issue if you know you are in a hard boiled noir inspired world, but that’s not necessarily the impression given all the time. More significant is the fact that different plays give different solutions. It is indicative of the fact that no clues will point you to the answer. In fact the solutions I found I don’t really make much sense and neither explained the mysterious phone call that set the events of the book in motion.
Overall, enjoyable enough to pass the time but not really to recommend.
Free advance copy provided for review.
This book is designed in the same vein. You are a Homicide detective in 1950s LA who stumbles across the murder of famous actress on the eve of a fictional Not-Oscars award ceremony. It’s a setting with potential and an idea which, whilst potentially complicated, would if well executed be very satisfying.
Sadly, the execution isn’t that great. There are a few obvious issues on a couple of play throughs. One is that due to a limited number of option paragraphs to turn to the book sometimes assumes events have taken place or haven’t taken place in the text which, if the reader has plotted a slightly different course is odd or confusing.
Another is that the reader is given fewer options than you might want. Long chapters mean that you are often told what your character is doing. Limited options at the end of each piece of text sometimes confront you with two options, neither of which are what you might actually want to do.
The biggest issue, however, has to be the investigation itself. There is no real option for a structured thought through investigation based on evidence gathering. You are expected to chase suspects and act on hunches - not necessarily an issue if you know you are in a hard boiled noir inspired world, but that’s not necessarily the impression given all the time. More significant is the fact that different plays give different solutions. It is indicative of the fact that no clues will point you to the answer. In fact the solutions I found I don’t really make much sense and neither explained the mysterious phone call that set the events of the book in motion.
Overall, enjoyable enough to pass the time but not really to recommend.
Free advance copy provided for review.
November 16, 2024
The Royale Premiere hotel on the eve of a prestigious awards ceremony, all the glitz and glamour of fifties Hollywood and a murder. YOU, yes YOU, are first on the scene and have to investigate.
I'm old enough to remember Choose Your Own Adventure books when they were first published, so when I read the blurb for Murder in Tinseltown thought it was something I'd enjoy. Unfortunately, while it's an interesting idea it's poorly executed
On my first read through I noticed several inconsistencies: I followed a key witness to the airport and watched him die only to return to the hotel and bump into him alive and well; I discovered the murder weapon only to witness crime scene techs discover it again; and witnessed an explosion in a guest's room only to hide out in the same room with no mention made of the hole in the wall or water damage than had been caused earlier.
This being a choose your own style book I figured there would be false trails and dead ends, but there would be one true path through the story that, were you to find it, would iron out all the annoying inconsistencies. To that end I spent several hours reading and re-reading, trying one path after another and still encountering them, but maybe I was just unlucky. Maybe I'll give it another read at some point, but right now it's more of an annoying read than an enjoyable one.
Thanks anyway to NetGalley, HarperNorth and the author for an advance copy.
I'm old enough to remember Choose Your Own Adventure books when they were first published, so when I read the blurb for Murder in Tinseltown thought it was something I'd enjoy. Unfortunately, while it's an interesting idea it's poorly executed
On my first read through I noticed several inconsistencies: I followed a key witness to the airport and watched him die only to return to the hotel and bump into him alive and well; I discovered the murder weapon only to witness crime scene techs discover it again; and witnessed an explosion in a guest's room only to hide out in the same room with no mention made of the hole in the wall or water damage than had been caused earlier.
This being a choose your own style book I figured there would be false trails and dead ends, but there would be one true path through the story that, were you to find it, would iron out all the annoying inconsistencies. To that end I spent several hours reading and re-reading, trying one path after another and still encountering them, but maybe I was just unlucky. Maybe I'll give it another read at some point, but right now it's more of an annoying read than an enjoyable one.
Thanks anyway to NetGalley, HarperNorth and the author for an advance copy.
December 2, 2024
I used to love Choose Your Own Adventure books as a child – who else remembers them? – so when I saw this new adult version of the same concept, I couldn’t wait to read it. Murder in Tinseltown is set in Los Angeles in the 1950s and the reader takes on the role of a detective investigating the murder of an actress. At various points in the story you’ll have the opportunity to choose your own actions and decide what happens next, either by turning to different numbered pages or, in the Kindle edition I read, simply clicking on a link.
You start your adventure at LAPD headquarters on the weekend of the Golden Star Awards when some of Hollywood’s biggest stars have descended on the city. It’s a busy day in the squad room, but when a disturbing call comes through from the Royal Premiere Hotel – "Trouble…hurt…not my fault…help…it’s them…I’m sorry…" – you head straight to the hotel to investigate. You arrive just in time to learn that one of the waiters has discovered Blanche Aikerman, probably the world’s most famous actress, stabbed to death in her room. After witnessing the dead body for yourself, you accompany the hotel manager to the suite of Peter von Hiltz, Blanche’s director, to give him the news. However, he doesn’t answer the door. What will you do next?
This is where the interactive part of the novel begins. Will you ask the manager to let you into von Hiltz’s room? Will you return to the crime scene to look for more clues? Or would you prefer to interview the waiter who found the body? Each option takes you to a different location in the book and the story continues from there until you reach another turning point and are presented with a new set of choices. It could and should have been a lot of fun working through the book and trying to solve the mystery – unfortunately, there were some problems with the structure which made the whole experience less satisfying than I’d hoped.
Maybe there was one route I could have followed through the novel where the story would have flowed perfectly, but surely somebody should have checked that all of the other possible routes also made sense. Early on, I saw a character die right in front of my eyes at an airport – then I returned to the hotel, where that same character was still walking around alive and well as if nothing had happened. Similarly, I found the murder weapon and then someone else found it again later in the book. Looking at other reviews, it seems that most of us noticed those same two things so I’m not sure how they weren’t picked up on by the author or an editor. Also, there are several outcomes where you die, but instead of the book ending as you would expect, you just come straight back to life and are directed to the ‘correct’ option so the story can continue.
From a nostalgia perspective, it was nice to have the opportunity to read a book like this, but I’m disappointed that it didn’t work as well as it could have done.
You start your adventure at LAPD headquarters on the weekend of the Golden Star Awards when some of Hollywood’s biggest stars have descended on the city. It’s a busy day in the squad room, but when a disturbing call comes through from the Royal Premiere Hotel – "Trouble…hurt…not my fault…help…it’s them…I’m sorry…" – you head straight to the hotel to investigate. You arrive just in time to learn that one of the waiters has discovered Blanche Aikerman, probably the world’s most famous actress, stabbed to death in her room. After witnessing the dead body for yourself, you accompany the hotel manager to the suite of Peter von Hiltz, Blanche’s director, to give him the news. However, he doesn’t answer the door. What will you do next?
This is where the interactive part of the novel begins. Will you ask the manager to let you into von Hiltz’s room? Will you return to the crime scene to look for more clues? Or would you prefer to interview the waiter who found the body? Each option takes you to a different location in the book and the story continues from there until you reach another turning point and are presented with a new set of choices. It could and should have been a lot of fun working through the book and trying to solve the mystery – unfortunately, there were some problems with the structure which made the whole experience less satisfying than I’d hoped.
Maybe there was one route I could have followed through the novel where the story would have flowed perfectly, but surely somebody should have checked that all of the other possible routes also made sense. Early on, I saw a character die right in front of my eyes at an airport – then I returned to the hotel, where that same character was still walking around alive and well as if nothing had happened. Similarly, I found the murder weapon and then someone else found it again later in the book. Looking at other reviews, it seems that most of us noticed those same two things so I’m not sure how they weren’t picked up on by the author or an editor. Also, there are several outcomes where you die, but instead of the book ending as you would expect, you just come straight back to life and are directed to the ‘correct’ option so the story can continue.
From a nostalgia perspective, it was nice to have the opportunity to read a book like this, but I’m disappointed that it didn’t work as well as it could have done.
March 7, 2025
I really, really wanted this to work. I love a good choose-your-own-adventure style book and a good detective mystery, so the idea of having two tied up into one was appealing. Unfortunately as others have already said, the concept was great but the execution was lacking.
There are a lot of confusing moments if you don't follow the "right" route - characters killed appear alive and well pages later, a weapon you find early on is found by someone else later, a conversation indicates you've found the weapon regardless of whether you have at that point, and a very key one-time-only event can happen multiple times if you follow one route. You can also die. A lot.
The narrative doesn't quite fit either - everything my character seems to be able to do goes against what should be done by a police officer (even in the 1950s). Especially when following the "right" route. In fact, doing what you really ought to do ends the case before you figure out whodunnit.
All in all, I'm glad I gave this book a go - it was nice to read something different - but I think it could have been so much better with a bit more realism and structure around the narrative/various journeys. I hope this is created in future, as the concept is brilliant for a detective mystery fan.
There are a lot of confusing moments if you don't follow the "right" route - characters killed appear alive and well pages later, a weapon you find early on is found by someone else later, a conversation indicates you've found the weapon regardless of whether you have at that point, and a very key one-time-only event can happen multiple times if you follow one route. You can also die. A lot.
The narrative doesn't quite fit either - everything my character seems to be able to do goes against what should be done by a police officer (even in the 1950s). Especially when following the "right" route. In fact, doing what you really ought to do ends the case before you figure out whodunnit.
All in all, I'm glad I gave this book a go - it was nice to read something different - but I think it could have been so much better with a bit more realism and structure around the narrative/various journeys. I hope this is created in future, as the concept is brilliant for a detective mystery fan.
January 5, 2025
Rating: 2.5 - 2.75 ⭐
This review is a challenge to write, because I truly need to articulate and adjust my review style for this book. Truthfully, I’m a little bit sad about writing this review because this book really has potential. At the beginning, I wanted to read this because I want to gamify my reading, so I thought from the synopsis, this adventure will be exciting. However, I’ve mixed feelings for this book at the end. I have no issue in terms of writing because it is straightforward and easy to understand. But the plot in general really needs to be improved.
From my reading, I see that the investigation truly focused on catching the culprit instead of evidence gathering, which is understandable based on the synopsis. However, the storyline for each choice truly needs to be improved in terms of transition and the sequence of action. The sequence of some choices were jumbled up, making the reading experience confusing. Personally, after getting to the expected ending, I just read the book from beginning to the end, ignoring all the choices. This is because I want to know all possible choices in the story, but I don’t want to play the game anymore.
Finally, I’m still thinking that the author still has potential on creating stories like this, but really need to be careful in terms of plot choices. I want to see more from the author and thank you for this story.
Thank you to Harper North and NetGalley for this ARC! This review was voluntarily written by me.
This review is a challenge to write, because I truly need to articulate and adjust my review style for this book. Truthfully, I’m a little bit sad about writing this review because this book really has potential. At the beginning, I wanted to read this because I want to gamify my reading, so I thought from the synopsis, this adventure will be exciting. However, I’ve mixed feelings for this book at the end. I have no issue in terms of writing because it is straightforward and easy to understand. But the plot in general really needs to be improved.
From my reading, I see that the investigation truly focused on catching the culprit instead of evidence gathering, which is understandable based on the synopsis. However, the storyline for each choice truly needs to be improved in terms of transition and the sequence of action. The sequence of some choices were jumbled up, making the reading experience confusing. Personally, after getting to the expected ending, I just read the book from beginning to the end, ignoring all the choices. This is because I want to know all possible choices in the story, but I don’t want to play the game anymore.
Finally, I’m still thinking that the author still has potential on creating stories like this, but really need to be careful in terms of plot choices. I want to see more from the author and thank you for this story.
Thank you to Harper North and NetGalley for this ARC! This review was voluntarily written by me.
January 13, 2025
With the disclaimer that I've only read it once and had one path to the ending; this was an interesting idea let down by poor execution.
Like others, I had the odd experience of following one character to his untimely death at the airport, only for him to pull a gun on me when I got back to the hotel, and the magically teleporting knife.
The narrative between choices felt a bit thin and surface-level, which added to the feeling of it not being especially well thought out. The noir atmosphere was almost there, but more time spent painting the scene would have helped immensely. Additionally, a different era would have been nice; it's difficult to feel immersed in a world when I'm looking at it through a character who is obviously a man when I'm not.
According to my progress, I've read about half of the book, but I don't feel any strong urge to see what the other half is like.
And does anyone know why the other room exploded???
Like others, I had the odd experience of following one character to his untimely death at the airport, only for him to pull a gun on me when I got back to the hotel, and the magically teleporting knife.
The narrative between choices felt a bit thin and surface-level, which added to the feeling of it not being especially well thought out. The noir atmosphere was almost there, but more time spent painting the scene would have helped immensely. Additionally, a different era would have been nice; it's difficult to feel immersed in a world when I'm looking at it through a character who is obviously a man when I'm not.
According to my progress, I've read about half of the book, but I don't feel any strong urge to see what the other half is like.
And does anyone know why the other room exploded???
March 13, 2025
This choose your own storyline was such an interesting concept and I was so excited for it and to travel back to old hollywood. However, the story itself fell a little flat for me and I definitely started to loose interest in the characters and what was going on.
The constant start and stop of the story to pick which storyline you want to continue with while is interesting, makes it really hard to get into the story as you always and have to stop to think and choose and then go all the way back to start if you made a wrong move. I think this could’ve flowed better if as you go deeper into the story you don’t have to return to the very start but just a couple choices back. Otherwise, you could be reading this book forever with the amount of choices you have to make.
An interesting concept for a book and plot however, just fell short pretty much everywhere which is a bit disappointing.
2.25 ⭐️
The constant start and stop of the story to pick which storyline you want to continue with while is interesting, makes it really hard to get into the story as you always and have to stop to think and choose and then go all the way back to start if you made a wrong move. I think this could’ve flowed better if as you go deeper into the story you don’t have to return to the very start but just a couple choices back. Otherwise, you could be reading this book forever with the amount of choices you have to make.
An interesting concept for a book and plot however, just fell short pretty much everywhere which is a bit disappointing.
2.25 ⭐️
January 3, 2026
2.5? An intriguing premise but I didn’t think it was that well executed 🙈 Maybe I am just annoying but, for example, using words like mom/dad instead of mother/father felt so out of character. Also I wasn’t really sure who the audience was, as the plot feels quite temperate compared to a lot of other “dark side of Hollywood” stories but also has profanity? So is it meant to be more of a mature story or for a younger audience v_v I think it could have used some more editing to make it more immersive and consistent in tone. The writing overall wasn’t my favorite, but not bad. The dialogue wasn’t too blocky and the descriptions of places/actions was generally interesting, although the characters all felt very flat. I thought the mystery was okay (I think I ended with the “good” ending? Not sure, but I did find out who did it ;3) but it wasn’t very long and I think lacked in intrigue. Overall, fine but read more for the novelty than the plot ;p
December 26, 2024
This was an interesting concept, but it definately didn't execute it properly. Things started to fall apart pretty quick and there was definately a need for a continuity check or two. I feel like I've seen this concept work better before. In "Romeo and/or Juliet. also in Those Fighting Fantasy choose your own adventure books from my childhood. I used to love those. Also there is now a nd updated version those on the web called Choice of Games. Those work great because the authors know how to make good links and coherent stories out of decision trees.
This was mostly just working through the options by killing you off to narrow things down to a perceived "better " choice.
though I will say that the two motives for murder that I did get from my multiple runs though were very Hollywood thinking and you could probably make a film about it that people would watch.
This was mostly just working through the options by killing you off to narrow things down to a perceived "better " choice.
though I will say that the two motives for murder that I did get from my multiple runs though were very Hollywood thinking and you could probably make a film about it that people would watch.
September 4, 2025
If you’re in my book club stop reading now
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I hated this! Constantly having my choices putting me back into pages or chapters I’ve already read.
The language and speech was cheesy and Juvenile. It felt like this was actually a 9-12 aged book, not an adult book.
Why did so many choices have a dead end? Why is it that the detective is agile and fast but falls on the balcony and basically dies? Why are they not fast enough to grab the candle? It shouldn’t even be an option.
Personally my “solving of the crime” ended on page 128 and THANK GOD.
The author was also very specific about certain things which I thought would lead to a clue later on but no? Just dropped that. Please tell me Max, what does heavily dyed hair look like to you??
I personally don’t return books that I’ve read because I don’t think it’s fair but trust me I WANT TO
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I hated this! Constantly having my choices putting me back into pages or chapters I’ve already read.
The language and speech was cheesy and Juvenile. It felt like this was actually a 9-12 aged book, not an adult book.
Why did so many choices have a dead end? Why is it that the detective is agile and fast but falls on the balcony and basically dies? Why are they not fast enough to grab the candle? It shouldn’t even be an option.
Personally my “solving of the crime” ended on page 128 and THANK GOD.
The author was also very specific about certain things which I thought would lead to a clue later on but no? Just dropped that. Please tell me Max, what does heavily dyed hair look like to you??
I personally don’t return books that I’ve read because I don’t think it’s fair but trust me I WANT TO
October 24, 2025
I appreciate the effort and creativity of having the reader choose what happens next, but the actual writing was so poorly executed. For one, there was no establishment of the characters. They had very little traits and relationships which made it hard to buy into the story. Secondly, there were way too many pick what happens next. Less would have been more in order for the author to better develop the plot. Thirdly, the ending was insane. The mother is the murderer of her daughter simply to seek more fame. Again, there is not many details about the mother or daughter so this ending seemed very out there. This book would be better for a younger audience, but still needs to be edited to create an emotional buy in for the reader.
December 29, 2025
My brain is scrambled from this book. I've taken 406 urgent calls from the station in a 210 page book.
I'm not entirely convinced the book makes any sense. I was shot or dropped from the case for (in my opinion) very rational choices, and the one's that were a bit amateur or rookie got me making progress. The narratives are completely different depending on some of the routes you take, and there are multiple confessions to the murder.
In one narrative I'm sending a suspect cuffed and into a backup police car, whilst yet never answering the call from the station and leaving them presently unaware that there is a crime scene to attend.
Nevertheless it was a quick and fun Christmas Murder mystery.
I'm not entirely convinced the book makes any sense. I was shot or dropped from the case for (in my opinion) very rational choices, and the one's that were a bit amateur or rookie got me making progress. The narratives are completely different depending on some of the routes you take, and there are multiple confessions to the murder.
In one narrative I'm sending a suspect cuffed and into a backup police car, whilst yet never answering the call from the station and leaving them presently unaware that there is a crime scene to attend.
Nevertheless it was a quick and fun Christmas Murder mystery.
January 19, 2025
I intended this to be a fun, easy read, and instead just feel a little let-down, disappointingly so. In the interest of not being too harsh, because I don't want to be, this wasn't badly written and it has a lot of potential, and I really did enjoy some of the characters. But, it lacked a certain depth to the point its inconsistencies outshone its good qualities, and the ebook version of this is borderline unreadable; less of a choose-your-own, more of me reading every page because finding the path I needed was impossible.
tldr; I wanted a quick forray into a choose-your-own-story mystery, and left a little more confused than anything (though, I doubt that's entirely the fault of the author).
tldr; I wanted a quick forray into a choose-your-own-story mystery, and left a little more confused than anything (though, I doubt that's entirely the fault of the author).
March 6, 2025
Not terrible, just kind of unremarkable. Each scene moves too quickly to truly be attached to any of the characters, and very few of them recur more than once.
Despite being a "choose your own story" mystery, there's almost always a right & wrong answer. The wrong being instant death the very next page. There's a lot of whiplash, with the amount of times a character will murder you for asking a specific question on one page, only to provide you critical information if you do something slightly different on the next
(these murders are almost always baffling and make no sense considering the situation and their motivation)
On the bright side, it's a quick, light read.
Despite being a "choose your own story" mystery, there's almost always a right & wrong answer. The wrong being instant death the very next page. There's a lot of whiplash, with the amount of times a character will murder you for asking a specific question on one page, only to provide you critical information if you do something slightly different on the next
(these murders are almost always baffling and make no sense considering the situation and their motivation)
On the bright side, it's a quick, light read.
June 23, 2025
I grew up with the classic 'Choose-your-own-adventure' books, so I borrowed this one from my local library purely for nostalgia. It's not a genre that one would expect great storytelling, it's more about the fun of following the different paths the story can take, so my expectations were low. Still, this was a dud even with my low expectations. Half the choices lead to contradicting plots that give no leeway to suspend your disbelief, especially when one character keeps popping up alive in multiple options, even if you follow the path where they die.
Give this one a pass if you see, there are better and more coherent 'choose-your-own-adventure' style books out there to read.
Give this one a pass if you see, there are better and more coherent 'choose-your-own-adventure' style books out there to read.
August 31, 2025
***Advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
Murder in Tinseltown is a nice idea, presented as a choose your own adventure mystery, but in practice it felt more like a gimmick than a book you can properly curl up with. The format did not flow especially well on Kindle, where the constant jumping back and forth interrupted the reading experience. I think it would work more smoothly in a physical book, where flipping between sections would feel more natural.
As a light novelty read it has its charms and I can see it working well as a quirky stocking stuffer at Christmas, but as a mystery to get lost in it fell short for me.
Murder in Tinseltown is a nice idea, presented as a choose your own adventure mystery, but in practice it felt more like a gimmick than a book you can properly curl up with. The format did not flow especially well on Kindle, where the constant jumping back and forth interrupted the reading experience. I think it would work more smoothly in a physical book, where flipping between sections would feel more natural.
As a light novelty read it has its charms and I can see it working well as a quirky stocking stuffer at Christmas, but as a mystery to get lost in it fell short for me.
February 5, 2025
Horrible! Wtf I'm so annoyed. I wanted to read a fun chose your own adventure just like I had when I was a kid. Instead I got stuck in an endless loop that led to no conclusion. I would follow the prompts to see a suspect die, and then continue the prompts back to when he's alive? There also seems to be multiple murderers. I'm not sure what the point was, maybe just that there are multiple stories, but omg my god so annoying, so illogical, and it doesn't seem to have a main storyline. After trying to get out of the loop I pretty much have up after finding 2 possible endings. Irritated.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2025
I was so excited to give this book a try. It’s a super fun idea, poor execution. Choose your own adventure was really just let’s see how many ways this dumb detective (seriously, he picked up the murder weapon with his bare hand and put it in his pocket!) can get killed by a Bad Guy™.
My favorite part was the three or so pages before the actual choose your own adventure part started. I realized shortly in I would have just preferred a straight forward whodunnit book about the murder of glamorous Blanche Aikerman.
My favorite part was the three or so pages before the actual choose your own adventure part started. I realized shortly in I would have just preferred a straight forward whodunnit book about the murder of glamorous Blanche Aikerman.
December 25, 2025
Remember those cool choose-your-own-stories from your childhood? Fun, right? So when I found out there was an adult CYOS about a murder in Hollywood in the 1950s, I couldn't resist. If you're reading this review, take it from me... RESIST! Try as I might, I could not get out of a loop. Over and over, different choice after different choice, I went in circles and could never finish the damn story. EVER. It was so poorly written and executed that I'm questioning whether it was AI generated.
December 26, 2025
Like other reviews have said, this book has a good plot but is let down by elements of the choose your own adventure looping back around. I had a character die and then reappear a couple of chapters later; a weapon found and then found again later by another person. I still enjoyed the concept and the reveal - it was a quick read (I finished multiple storyline’s in one day) with good pace and character, but the story needs more work to function correctly as a choose your own adventure with this many pathway options.
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