Strip Club Heiress: The Jet Strip, My Father’s Conviction, and the Murder of Mac McKenna

by Laurel Woods

When Laurel entered her father's strip club at nine years old, she was dazzled by the kaleidoscope of lights, the shimmering silver of the disco ball.

After an injury, Laurel's father, Michael Woods left the California Highway Patrol and took up a new career in high profile adult entertainment, opening the Jet Strip Club and building a successful business with his partner Horace Joseph McKenna Jr. (Big Mac). Their success came quickly, changing both of their lives.

Twelve years, multiple club openings, and millions of dollars later, Mac is found shot to death in his limo outside his ranch and Michael is the prime suspect. For ten years, the case goes unsolved, but Michael remained at the top of the list of suspects the whole time, eventually being arrested and convicted for the murder. Leaving the strip club empire to Laurel to manage, while fighting for her father’s freedom.

In this riveting memoir, Laurel Woods, shares raw memories from her childhood to adulthood exposing how her dad's work and eventual imprisonment shaped her life in unexpected ways.

The case has been the subject of countless documentaries and whodunnit splashes on blogs. But no one knows the whole story … until now.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 3, 2026

Reviews

[Ceeceereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘After nine years, we were still adjusting to a Christmas with sex offenders, drug lords, murderers and Phil Spector.’

5 stars.

This is the story of growing up with a father who- an ex cop and a bit of a dodgy character- owns strip clubs and subsequently ends up going to prison.

I found the author to be engaging, honest, and intelligent. Her story is one that is unique and she captured past times and bought them to life for the reader. She writes about about having this larger-than-life father but also about the pain that he brought upon his family through his choices and the burden placed on her shoulders. In this respect, this is a complex relationship to navigate and the author tries to piece together fragments of understanding of who exactly her father is. The father, protector, provider, head of the family, also being the one that brought the destruction of the family. I found it interesting to explore the complexities of this, along with the author’s own eventual process of self discovery, self worth and boundaries.

Although the story itself is this ‘blockbuster crazy let-me-tell-you-a-story’ type of tale, the actual fundamentals of the complicated father-daughter dynamic were wrought with quiet emotion. This plays out across many daughter’s lives and I think the author was brave to explore this and eloquently undress the relationship and her becoming of self. The accepting of an apology you never got.

This ended up being quite beautiful, raw and emotional, which wasn’t what I was expecting.

‘Our family unit was dissolved. We had dwindled to four individuals related by blood and circumstances.’

‘The guilt ran strong in my veins. Years of practice.’

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc.

[Jace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strip Club Heiress will take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

Strip Club Heiress is a memoir detailing the life of Laurel Woods, whose father, Michael Woods, owned a series of successful strip clubs. Everything changed when she was in her early twenties. Her father’s business partner was murdered, leaving her father as the prime suspect. When years went by without an arrest, Laurel’s family thought he was in the clear, but 12 years after Horace “Big Mac” McKenna was shot dead, Michael Woods was arrested for his murder. Suddenly, Laurel’s family was in the spotlight, her father’s business fell to her, and her family was under tremendous strain.

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I forgot this was memoir, and when I realized this was real, I was suddenly engrossed. It felt too outrageous for real life, but also so wild it could only be real. Throughout, Woods does a great job of representing those involved as complex people with real emotions. As a reader, I could never forget the impact every action would have on everyone else. This book had a lot of potential. Overall, I like it but found some parts extremely frustrating. Furthermore, there were times Woods fixated on details that kept the reader stuck rather than progressing the story. Additionally, her decision to let her parents dictate her life well into adulthood was frustrating, and I was proud of her when she made progress, but frustrated every time she slipped up. I liked Woods, I wanted good things for her, but she could only go so far while being attached to her family.

I rate it three out of five stars.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a fascinating book about the daughter of a narcissist who went to prison for murder but always claims he's innocent. Laurel really shows how her views and understanding of her father evolves and she learns to set boundaries. The psychology behind her experiences is really interesting to me.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, Strip Club Heiress, by Laurel Woods, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Laurel Woods father ran a strip club with his partner whom, he was charged with killing. This was such a heavy read. I could not imagine having the life Lauren has. This a wild story.

[Laurel Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read, a must read, mostly because I wrote it! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing my first memoir.