Windhall

by Ava Barry

A stunning literary thriller in which an investigative journalist in modern Los Angeles attempts to solve the Golden Age murder of a Hollywood starlet.

1940s Hollywood was an era of decadence and director Theodore Langley was its king. Paired with Eleanor Hayes as his lead actress, Theo ruled the Golden Age of Hollywood. That ended when Eleanor's mangled body was discovered in Theo's rose garden and he was charged with her murder. The case was thrown out before it went to trial and Theo fled L.A., leaving his crawling estate, Windhall, to fall into ruin. He hasn't been seen since.

Decades later, investigative journalist Max Hailey, raised by his gran on stories of old Hollywood, is sure that if he could meet Theo, he could prove once and for all that the famed director killed his leading lady. When a copycat murder takes place near Windhall, the long reclusive Theo returns to L.A., and it seems Hailey finally has his chance.

When Hailey gets his hands on Theo's long-missing journals, he reads about Eleanor's stalkers and her role in Theo's final film, The Last Train to Avalon, a film so controversial it was never released to the public. In the months leading up to her death, something had left her so terrified she stopped coming to work. The more Hailey learns about Avalon, the more convinced he becomes that the film could tell him who killed Eleanor and why she had to die. But the implications of Avalon reach far beyond Eleanor's murder, and Hailey must race to piece together the murders of the past and present before it's too late.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adult, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Thriller

368 pages, Hardcover

First published March 2, 2021

About the author

IG: @themodernatlas

I'm a California native currently living in a National Park in Australia.

Reviews

[TarHeelReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

About the book: “A stunning literary thriller in which an investigative journalist in modern Los Angeles attempts to solve the Golden Age murder of a Hollywood starlet.”

Windhall is a book you simply have to discover. It is a literary thriller with a historical backdrop. It’s sophisticated and fancy; alluring, but also dark.

The protagonist is arrogant and unlikable at times, but that didn’t stop me from being drawn into his obsession with a cold case from old Hollywood. Check this one out if you are looking for a mystery with the glitz and glamour of old Hollywood!

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow! I did not see that one coming!

So, not to be a spoiler…but, this is a mystery.

Investigative journalist Max Hailey has been obsessed with a Hollywood cold case his whole life.

In the late 1940’s, famed director Theo Langley was accused of murdering his leading lady Eleanor Hayes during a party as his estate, Windhall. But Theo was acquitted and disappeared from the public eye.

When a copy-cat murder takes place near Windhall, Max is determined to prove Theo’s guilt, but his obsession clouds his judgment and he finds he’s in over his head.

I found Max’s investigation a little inconsistent and there were little gaps in the narrative that didn’t flow well.

(He was also a somewhat unlikeable character, which makes it at times difficult to read when he is also the main character and the narrator.)

The secondary characters, both historical and present, were muddled and forgettable.

The premise was good, but the execution lacked finesse.

I felt that I didn’t get the whole picture, like watching a film with missing scenes.

One example was Max’s background, which I won’t go in to, because I don’t want to spoil it for you, if you choose to read this.

While I enjoyed the overall concept and the film noir style that the author conveyed, I was a little disappointed on the route Max took to uncover the truth of the decades-old murder.

Now, having said all this, if you are willing to read yourself through this story, this is where it takes you to the Wow part.

Will the wow part make up for the rest? I leave it to you to decide.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ll give points for a great premise and good description but the main character was just the worst. There was no compelling reason for why he was the main character and he was perhaps the worst journalist ever. HOW DO YOU INTERVIEW SOMEONE TWICE AND NOT ASK A SINGLE SUBSTANTIVE QUESTION?!?!! Why doesn’t he question anyone or anything he’s told? And the resolution is heavy handedly alluded to halfway through but we spend the rest of the book waiting for him to figure it out.

I think I was unfairly hoping for another Evelyn Hugo with perfect mix of flashback and new, twists that surprise but tie together. To paraphrase a famous line: I have read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and this is definitely no Evelyn Hugo.

[Madeline · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
I only made it about a third of the way through this before I gave it up. The main character was too unlikable (cocky/know-it-all/sarcastic/mean) and just made it irritating to read instead of enjoyable. Nothing of the mystery felt compelling and the main character’s obsession was as of yet unexplained and just unappealing in its irrationality. Besides writing the character as an asshole, description was lacking. I started off thinking the main character was a guy, then when someone called him “Hailey” adjusted it to a woman, only to find out later that it really was a man. It’s also mentioned at one point how his growth was stunted as a child, but later on he’s very tall. Just not interesting enough to push past all the negatives.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigh. Why can’t books like this be easier to review?

There’s so much to like about Ava Barry’s debut novel Windhall…and so much that grated on my nerves. I really wanted to push this to a charity first-book-4-star review and I just couldn’t.

The book kind of feels like the version of the decaying mansion at the center of the story: beautiful and glamorous but uninhabitable and far past its prime.

Probably easier with this one to pull out the old good/bad formula:

Good:
-The book definitely brings old Hollywood to life in a real and interesting way.
-It has a solid knowledge of Los Angeles neighborhoods and deftly highlights the perpetual contrast between past and present in the city.
-Parts of the mystery were well-written and unpredictable.
-It definitely gets the nuances of the crumbling indie journalism industry.
-Has all the makings of a classic LA mystery tale, which is absolutely my bag.

Bad:
-Absolutely could not connect with the lead character. He wasn’t good or bad, he was just…present. It’s a glaring weakness of the whole book.
-The dialogue was wooden and uninspired.
-While the mystery had many twists, the ending was overdone.
-I can usually suspend my believability radar for any fiction but this one really pushed me hard.

I guess overall, I really liked the setting but couldn’t connect with the story…except when I could…but then I didn’t. Seriously, if Barry had a more interesting lead, I could overlook the other flaws but I just don’t really know what Max’s deal was or why I should care. Check this out if you like Old Hollywood tales and don’t mind them fictionalized.

[Emg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Should have known how disappointing this book was going to be when I read the Acknowledgements.
The first part was marred by overuse of adjectives. Totally annoying, unsympathetic and unlikeable protagonist (who was a college dropout but bemoaned the inability to use his journalism degree). Lots of lifeless and banal descriptions. Most of the booked dragged but just as I was ready to admit defeat, an interesting passage (short but welcomed) popped up. Ending was okay but not really plausible; things happened but really didn't make sense.

[Becky Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ava Barry’s debut novel is a five-star read. It has a sophisticated plot and larger than life characters wrapped in an exhilarating mystery. Anyone who loves a good murder mystery (on the darker side) and a protagonist that takes you along for the ride, this is the book for you. I can’t wait to see what Barry writes next.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book opens with echoes of Rebecca, but not for any obvious reason. Max Hailey works for an online newspaper and relates the story in the first person. He is an unreliable narrator, not because of his narration, but because of his character. He does, and freely reports, some very questionable behaviors. He is obsessed with a murder that happened 70 years ago which involves Eleanor, a famous Hollywood star and Theo, her equally famous director. Eleanor was murdered, and although everyone is sure that Theo did it, he got off. Theo, still alive and in his 90s shows up at his old mansion (scene of the crime), and Hailey becomes obsessed with proving that Theo was the murderer. Hailey is helped by some friends and does eventually figure out what happened on that long ago night. The timeline of the plot is quite short, especially for someone investigating such an old crime and clues appear rather conveniently, but Hailey, for all his faults, did grow on me.

[A.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, wow - what a smart, five-star mystery this is! Once halfway through, I could not put it down even for the sake of breakfast, which became brunch (almost lunch). Food could wait - I needed to see this through to the end, and let me tell you: there are twists and turns up to the final page.

Set in contemporary Los Angeles, Windhall is a tale of an investigative journalist digging into an unresolved murder involving 1940s-era Hollywood elite, present-day suspicious deaths tying into this murder case and conspiracy theories galore. I'll say no more, because I knew next to nothing about this book when I picked it up and loved the unexpected, exhilarating read that unfolded.

[Geonn Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the mystery of this book, and the female characters were great, but the narrator was *such* an asshole. I legitimately hated the guy by the time the book was over. Petra would’ve been a much better character to follow for the duration. I also found it odd that it took most of the first chapter to establish he was even male. First person, plus being called Hailey... I was picturing a woman until someone said “he”. Very strange. That guy aside, it was an excellent book.

[LA Lichte · Rating 5 out of 5]

1940s Hollywood investigated by modern journalist. Well-rounded characters. Excellent writing. Quite a fun read!

[Cláudia · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 48%

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plucky investigative journalist Max Hailey has been obsessed with a Hollywood cold case his whole life. In the late 1940’s, famed director Theo Langley was accused of murdering his leading lady Eleanor Hayes during a party as his estate, Windhall. But Theo was acquitted and disappeared from the public eye. When a copy-cat murder takes place near Windhall, Max is determined to prove Theo’s guilt, but his obsession clouds his judgement and he finds he’s in over his head.

I found Max’s investigation a little inconsistent and there were little gaps in the narrative that didn’t flow well. The secondary characters, both historical and present, were muddled and forgettable. The premise was good, but the execution lacked finesse. I felt that I didn’t get the whole picture, like watching a film with missing scenes. One example was Max’s background, his arson charge, and his obsession with old buildings. While I enjoyed the overall concept and the film noir style that the author conveyed, I was a little disappointed on the route Max took to uncover the truth of the decades-old murder.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.

[Cat Jenkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

It really felt like a beginner's first novel, which it was. I hope the writer continues on and develops, matures, seasons, because she could someday be pretty darn good.
As for this, it shows promise, but where it failed for me were the areas of character development, detail consistency and plot thread. I can tell Ms. Barry's enamored of film noir and seems to have tried to make her MC like a stereotypical anti-hero who emerges, battered, seedy and used up, but having accomplished his goal. I almost bailed very early on until she mentioned the MC's stint in a hospital which made him smaller, but more intellectually gifted than his peers. That would have fleshed him out, but it didn't gel. He had a smart mouth and was a real a-hole so many times that I couldn't see him as someone who would have had a hard time and been bullied, which was the logical result of his physical description. I didn't like him and he had no internal logic.
Then, too, details conflicted. He mentions breaking into a house, but then says he'd give anything to be able to see inside it. He leaves his car at a location, is driven back by friends, and then is dropped off by friends at his home...having never retrieved the car. It's little things like that that make me stumble over a story.
And there were just too many red herrings, too many characters who were unimportant to the story, but were give enough attention in the telling that you thought you should remember them for some reason that would become apparent later. Overall, the plot was so extremely improbable that it didn't flow.
And the twist at the end didn't help. I think the writer was trying to be super original and was caught up in her own work, but it was too effortful. It strained for a level of eloquence and achievement...and it just plain failed.
But...as I said in the beginning...there's promise here. It needs work and a chance to grow.
As an ex-Los Angelino, though, I did appreciate all the mentions of neighborhoods I used to roam. The nostalgia factor was one reason I did keep reading.

[Genevieve Paquette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably should be a 3, but I was entertained, so...

Reading a few of the other reviews here, at first I was surprised by how harsh they were, but then... they're all valid. It was slow, the protagonist was unlikable, the ending was a little silly, and the writing could be clunky and flowery. There was some weird geographically incongruous language (I had to look up where the author was from because it read like they were a British person writing American. Turns out, they're from California but live in Australia. Which makes sense, since they definitely described California like a local. I appreciated that) and there were some plot elements that felt jammed in. The main character was an avowed feminist, but more like in name only? (And a reporter, who didn't know how to effectively investigate or interview.) Likewise, the whole backstory with his grandfather killing his beloved grandmother after years of abuse. It went nowhere and added nothing except, I guess, to explain why the author was interested in the dead ingenue cold case. Except that feels like a stretch?
There are areas that could have been developed (the characters...) and areas that could have been cut back a bit. Oh! Oh! And then there was that awful trope of the found journal that explains everything, but for whatever reason, the author doesn't skip to the end right away! Or skim it all quickly as soon as they get their hands on it. Oof.

Having said all that, though, I did enjoy it. I thought it was fun, I liked the concept, and for a first novel, I thought it was pretty good. I'll check out more from the author, for sure.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time with this book. I wanted to like it more. A coldcase celebrity murder, missing suspect, old time Hollywood……. I just didn’t particularly like the protagonist.

[ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’ve had this book from the library upwards of two months now and it only took a burst of reading energy for me to get around to it. but MAN i’m glad i didn’t give up on it when i had reader’s block. goes to show that some books benefit from a wait.

for some reason the way i imagine max hailey is that he looks like a bald ben lerner even though hailey was never described as having glasses. i don’t know. EDIT: I WAS THINKING, IN FACT, OF CHRISTIAN WIMAN!!!!

one of my favourite parts of this book was the way Los Angeles was described. reminiscent of raymond chandler except in a more modern sense that still held the quality of timelessness. the descriptions too, not just of windhall, are vivid and exquisite in colour. beautiful. i took notes. and seeing as sunset boulevard is one of my favourite films, the comments about hollywood, silent film stars, and swimming pools made me smile.

and another thing i appreciate is the parallel of the film the last train of avalon where the eleanor hayes’ character plays a journalist while max hailey himself is one.

if i were to nitpick something, it’s hailey’s personality and how he treats petra and madeleine. i don’t know what i was looking for, exactly, but his interactions with them gave off an opportunistic tinge. which i get for a crime thriller novel, but still. i do appreciate hailey getting nowhere without their help though.

and that ending was a well-deserved sigh after all the punctuations of emotion i had to undergo.

[John Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journalist Max Hailey is obsessed with the late 1940s murder of movie star Eleanor Hayes, whose body was discovered in the garden of director Theodore Langley. Almost everyone believed Theo killed Eleanor, but the case was thrown out on a technicality and Theo then seemingly vanished into thin air. Now, decades later, the body of another young woman is found outside Windhall, Theo’s old mansion, and Max is certain the director may be back. Barry’s cinematically captivating, satisfyingly sardonic debut brilliantly captures the glamour and greed of Golden Age Hollywood while at the same time delivering a twist-rich plot with a killer ending.

[Carly Thompson]

Did not finish at about 20%. I was expecting/wanted to read a historical mystery set in the 1940s not a contemporary mystery about a person obsessed with an unsolved murder. I found the main character really unlikeable and annoying and after I read the description of the new editor (and the protagonists' journalistic hero), I gave up since I found it too unbelievable a character.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah! What a ride! Raymond Chandler would be more than a little pleased, I think ….though the name-dropping and glamour belong more to Tarantino (who gets name-checked, natch). This does NOT read like a first novel; Barry has chops!

[Melissa Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slow start for this book and I never really came around to the main character, but once the journal entries started and the reader was transported to early days Hollywood it was hard to put down. So many "starlets" that disappeared, so many questionable ethics around the movie industry. Interesting twist at the end is always a plus!

"A stunning literary thriller in which an investigative journalist in modern Los Angeles attempts to solve the Golden Age murder of a Hollywood starlet.

1940s Hollywood was an era of decadence and director Theodore Langley was its king. Paired with Eleanor Hayes as his lead actress, Theo ruled the Golden Age of Hollywood. That ended when Eleanor's mangled body was discovered in Theo's rose garden and he was charged with her murder. The case was thrown out before it went to trial and Theo fled L.A., leaving his crawling estate, Windhall, to fall into ruin. He hasn't been seen since. Decades later, investigative journalist Max Hailey, raised by his gran on stories of old Hollywood, is sure that if he could meet Theo, he could prove once and for all that the famed director killed his leading lady. When a copycat murder takes place near Windhall, the long reclusive Theo returns to L.A., and it seems Hailey finally has his chance. When Hailey gets his hands on Theo's long-missing journals, he reads about Eleanor's stalkers and her role in Theo's final film, The Last Train to Avalon, a film so controversial it was never released to the public. In the months leading up to her death, something had left her so terrified she stopped coming to work. The more Hailey learns about Avalon, the more convinced he becomes that the film could tell him who killed Eleanor and why she had to die. But the implications of Avalon reach far beyond Eleanor's murder, and Hailey must race to piece together the murders of the past and present before it's too late."

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not terrible, there was some good prose but for me, the dealbreaker is the main character.
Several people praise him for being a good journalist, and he introduces himself to the reader with how good he is with words.

But then he spends the entire book burning bridges with potential sources, saying the wrong thing in interviews, and believing whatever some random person tells him without thinking to factcheck until someone else reminds him that maybe he should do that.

And he writes for a "semi-queer semi-leftist" website, but doesn't pick up on the ultra-wealthy land-developer dropping casual antisemitism?

It's just frustrating to read about someone who is so bad at his job.
Maybe this would work if we saw some moments of competence, and then the obsession with this particular case makes him do stupid things, but it is all stupid things all the time.

The old hollywood connection is neat, but I dont know how fun it would be for someone who hasn't binged 'you must remember this'.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written and lush with detail, this was a fun mystery with only a few surprises for me to read. I wonder at the end, though, as well as the details that brought the mysterious figure of Windhall back to the site; it almost felt as though the author felt the need to write an extraneous amount of twists and turns, at the expense of good storytelling. As someone who is from the Pasadena area, it was nice to see some of the story take place out in my neck of the woods, and the descriptions throughout the book were certainly detailed, even if some local peculiarities were left out (anyone from SoCal will tell you all our freeways are "the." I have never in my life said "I need to take the I-210." It's just "the 210."). Still, the more I think about the story, the more questions I have. Why did certain characters do certain things? Because the plot needed them to, yes, but what were their motivations? I couldn't tell you, and I'm not sure Barry could, either.

[Kidlitter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not even B-Movie Good, which is a shame because it is meant to be an homage to Old Hollywood and has quite a bit of knowledge about the physical layout of Los Angeles and the ongoing tension between glamor and grit which seems pervasive, inspiring and corrupting at the same time. Who doesn't love a decaying old estate and a mystery that lingers through the decades, and that only our hero can solve? The trouble is that he's a D*#@ and not remotely interesting, even his obsession with a famous actress's long ago murder. His motivations are perplexing, his reactions poor, and any of the wooden females surrounding him should have taken over the investigation. In fact, bring on Nancy Drew, the Emma Roberts iteration that appeared in the 90s film where Nancy is transplanted to Hollywood and solves a starlet's murder from long ago...with much more gusto and flair than displayed here.

[Kry Tiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s 1940s Hollywood. The setting is nighttime, a party. A game begins.. and ends in tragedy. The usual death of Eleanor Hayes.. the accused: actor Theodore Langley.
Years later, Max Hailey wants desperately to solve the mystery behind the infamous trial of Theo Langley, who has disappeared from Hollywood. When the murder of a girl near Theo’s old Hollywood home in almost the same manner as Eleanor brings everyone attentions back to Theo, Hailey must put his own pride aside if he wants to get the answers he’s looking for.
What he doesn’t realize is it’s all about misdirection.

Such a most excellent novel! Thoroughly loved this storyline. The shout outs to old Hollywood and the scandal that still lives today was wonderfully written and thought out. So much detail and research was put into this and it shows. Wonderful listen/read!!

[Christen · Rating 3 out of 5]

"That which burns brightly burns quickly, but oh see how it burns."

The golden age of Hollywood always fascinated me. Add a murder in the mix and you have a good story. I wanted to like this one more than I did. The mystery was good and well written. I felt I was back in this time. But my oh my did it drag. At times the only exciting and interesting things happening were journal entries and all this already happened in the past. When we are back in the present I was just waiting for the main character to get back to the journal. While I understand that investigative journalism involves research, interviews, and following leads, I just wished the story had progressed at a faster pace. That being said I still enjoyed this one. I did not see the ending going that way. I would recommend this book if you like glamorous, old Hollywood with a decades long murder mystery.

[Cynthia Marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Recently I have read a spate of lousy books, so I was glad a good read slipped into my fall reading list.

I do not really like books about Hollywood, movie stars and the entertainment industry, in general. I did not like the book The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and had no desire to read Daisy Jones, despite the good reviews. However, I needed a book to read. This was on my to read list and was available at the library, so I picked it up. I was skeptical, but within the first few pages I was won over. The prose was solid. The story was interesting. I liked the film voir tone and I felt the author did a good job capturing the California vibe, both current and past. Unlike alot of people, I did not have a problem with the main character. Yes, he could be a cynical, smart ass pain in the butt, but his attitude and antics kept the story moving.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I enjoyed Windhall by Ava Barry, I was surprised that some readers gave it less than 4 star ratings! Max Hailey is an obsessed investigative journalist in Los Angeles. He believes that decades ago director Theodore Langley killed actress Eleanor Hayes during filming of The Last Train to Avalon. Theo's guilt was never proven and he left his Los Angeles estate, Windhall, which is now in ruins. Hailey wants a chance to talk to Theo after a copycat murder happens. Hailey acquires Theo's decades old journals, talks to others knowledgeable about the unsolved murder, checks out Windhall, and is determined to see his investigation through. This story was entertaining with twists and turns, some surprises, and a satisfying ending.

[Ireland · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like the cover of this book, either the color or the image. So I kept moving it to the bottom of my 'to read' pile. I should have just returned it to the library unread.

DNF page 15 . Why did I quit reading this book? First, in the 5 1/2 page prologue the author said 'dark eyes' four or five times. It's not a great description in the first place, but really? Has Ms. Barry never heard of a thesaurus? Where are the editors and proof readers?

I was not impressed, but the summary of the book still intrigued me so I started Chapter One. I got to page 15 and still didn't know for sure if the narrator was male or female. Another character calls for 'Max" and later " Hailey", which is it? Who is it? I quit then and there. DUN !

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted this to be better. I was excited to read a noir-y novel about a journalist hot on the trail of the cold case killing of Eleanor Hayes, a rising star in studio-era Hollywood. However, there was very little noir in the book, the main character was the stupidest, most obtuse, most aggressively annoying person I have read in a long time, and the story was told so quickly that I never got a grasp on the details.

The story itself was interesting, and I wish it had focused itself a little more so that we weren't hopping around from one topic to another so quickly. The ending was an interesting reveal, but again, there was too much going on, with too many characters, and too many moving pieces. I didn't mind reading this, but I'm glad it's over.