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The Hurricane Blonde

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A former child starlet is plunged back into the dangerous glitter of Hollywood after discovering a young actress's body in this scorching thriller about the deadly sides of both fame and family.

Hollywood is a sickness. Few people understand this better than Salma Lowe, progeny of Hollywood royalty and a former child-star turned guide of the Stars Six Feet Under tour bus. Salma spends her days leading tourists around the star-studded avenues of Hollywood, pointing out where actresses have met spectacular or untimely ends. Salma knows better than anyone that a tragic death is the surest path to stardom. Her own sister, Tawney, dubbed the "Hurricane Blonde" for her off-camera antics, was murdered in the mid-'90s, and the case remains unsolved. Salma herself has sworn off acting and just hopes to stay out of trouble...until a real dead body is discovered on her tour, on the property where her sister once lived.

Salma soon realizes something uncanny: it's not just that this woman is dead at her sister's address--she also looks just like her, and is wearing Tawney's distinctive hair clip. When the police investigation goes nowhere, Salma has no choice but to plunge herself back into the world she left behind to search for her sister's killer...who may have just struck again. But the search for the truth will take her deep into the rot of Hollywood past and present, into her family's own long-buried and terrible secrets.

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 2023

130 people are currently reading
9875 people want to read

About the author

Halley Sutton

2 books154 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 346 reviews
Profile Image for Amina .
1,318 reviews31 followers
August 19, 2023
✰ 3.75 stars ✰

“We’re only as sick as our secrets.”

Reading The Hurricane Blonde was like watching a black-and-white Noir-detective film with Humphrey Bogart or Richard Widmark narrating in the background, as they track down the clues to solve an unforeseen crime. Only in Halley Sutton's latest thriller, it's Sloppy Salma Lowe, daughter to one of Hollywood's golden couples and the younger sister to Tawney Lowe, also known as the Hurricane Blonde, whose career was tragically cut short when she was strangled to death in her Jacaranda home.

Now, twenty years later, her unsolved murder is being brought to the silver screen by none other than her own sister's ex-fiancé, Cal, a director known for going the extreme extra mile to get just the perfect shot. Reliving one of Salma's most traumatic and painful moments in her life is bad enough, but to have another untimely murder happen at the same time lead her on a path to not only find out truths behind her sister's death, but secrets within the family that have been kept buried for ever so long.

“Like every tour, I wanted to stop her there. Keep Beth Short alive a few more minutes.

But that wasn’t the way the story ended. You couldn’t cheat the past.

I knew that better than anyone.”


Salma Lowe was an interesting narrator; interesting, because having the story completely told in her point of view, we are privy to only her feelings in a very intimate sense. But, it still made it then interesting to see her reactions - question her motives - sympathize with her frustrations - applaud her zealous efforts to try and make sense of it all - and overall, follow through with her and her suspicions as she attempted to play detective and be someone who actually still cares enough to find out the truth behind her sister. 🧐🧐 She is also so very resentful of the past - and in an effort to do the right thing, she always ends up in the wrong.

The few transitions to the flashbacks are interspersed throughout help paint the image that the allure of Hollywood is not all that it seems. Salma is often times star-struck and horrified at the obsession, the industry still has with her sister's untimely and gruesome death - her illustrious career; it is suffocating, but eventually, illuminating - for it gives her the closure she so desperately needed in order to find some semblance of normalcy in her life. 😟😟

“And in the end, when you needed it most, fame meant nothing. It couldn’t protect you from the things that go bump in the night.

It couldn’t protect you at all.”


And as a former child-star, who has seen the bitter after-effects of a career not studded with accolades, who has seen what hides under the veneer of the glamor, the writing in turn is sharp, acerbic, caustic, and often times so bitter - it is judgmental and dripping with disgust. 😒 Disgust for the industry and the male race that dominates it - fueling on their desire for releasing pictures and have them successful, without any care for the actors' treatments - simply for their own gain - simply to capture the truest form of realism in their films.

And shockingly and sadly, enough, how far actors will go to stay in the orbit of fame - to do anything to stay in the spotlight a moment longer. There was one particular jarring moment with Cal and his new leading lady, Melany, that I actually noted down - how far will anyone go to capture the perfect scene? 😳😳

“Two dead women in the same place, years apart – my brain was rewriting one scene with the other, because that’s what brains did, found connections, even in the grimmest of circumstances.”

Of course, being the fanatical mystery thrill-seeker that I am - I was engaged with the story; it kept my interest because I needed to know the whodunit. And while some of the deliberate twists were a tad predictable, I still enjoyed the reveal. If a reveal can be written well, despite how cliché it may be - I would be wrong not to appreciate it. Salma's own reactions to each of the surprises - the shocking and the alarming - mirrored my own; even if I had suspected most of it earlier on. It's not exactly a keep on your toes thriller - but a creep-up-on-you mystery that you feel the invisible chords around your throat - that only allows you to breathe, once you have all the reveals in your hands. 🥺

There is also a plethora of references to real-life people and their tragic stories and the inclusion of real-life places that added to the authenticity and vibe of the story. 👍🏻👍🏻 I do agree with others that this was slightly reminiscent to Evelyn Hugo in regards to the portrayal of actresses' treatment in a male-dominated business, but I also appreciated the way the author described the smoky haze of wanting to be a part of the glitz of Hollywood charm - it truly is not as charming as it seems. That people will do anything to get ahead - sacrificing morality, shielding the truth, hiding behind the lies, and covering up their motives - to save face, career, and family.

“It wasn’t a moment of weakness. It was a lifetime of secrets. It was two lives, destroyed. It was deciding, for themselves, whose truths mattered, and whose truths didn’t.”

It is those very secrets that tumble out of the closet circling the Hurricane Blonde that Salma - for all the twenty years that she was in the dark - that it took only one new victim - for all the darkness to come to light. It was unnerving, unraveling, and unreal - but, ultimately, much needed. And after the dust had settled, much like Salma, I only had one thought --

“I needed a break from all things Hollywood.” 🎬🎬
Profile Image for Roman Clodia.
2,895 reviews4,647 followers
August 15, 2023
Handsome men with the world at their feet... Enabled by the world around them, because of their looks, their talent, their perceived value. In the end, they'd... hurt too many women.

Fans of Megan Abbott looking for a noirish page-turner of a holiday read should check this out: Sutton plays in that space of #MeToo together with the American mythology of Hollywood and movie fame, with all the glamour and superficiality together with the creativity, the power differentials and abuses, and the dark and frequently sordid underbelly. This is especially attentive to the way gender (and, to a lesser extent in the book, race) hand out uneven cards to players, and the extent to which complicity or challenge are the choices which many women, especially, face.

Salma is a beautifully flawed narrator who grows during the book but not in any miraculous, fairy tale way - just as there's no simple 'solution' to the murders which drive the bones of the plot. It's shocking to realise just how many women associated with Hollywood are murdered or driven to early deaths, and the ways in which coercion still manifests in the film industry.

The combination of narrative drive, an empathetic narrator, scandal, insider knowledge, and an acute awareness of gender politics made this a holiday winner for me! Fun but with a serious edge.
Profile Image for Kimberly R.
352 reviews7 followers
March 10, 2023
Salmas sister, movie star Tawney Lowe AKA The Hurricane Blonde was murdered at the Jacaranda House. 20 years later Salma is giving ghost tours. She finds another dead body there that looks like her sister. Salma goes on a mad rampage after the man she believes killed both women. Destructive family secrets are revealed. This was a great read with shocking twists.
Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Group for this ARC that will be released August 8, 2023!
Profile Image for Mandy White (mandylovestoread).
2,778 reviews848 followers
June 9, 2023
I love a good murder mystery, and one set in Hollywood certainly had my attention.

Salma Lowe, former child star and youngest daughter in the Hollywood royalty Lowe family. Since her sister was murdered, Salma has had a tough life. In and out of rehab, now driving a tour bus around Hollywood Murder sites for tourists, including the one of her own sisters, Tawny. One day pulling up to the same house Tawny died in, she sees a woman in the pool and tries to save her. This woman looks like the mirror image of Tawny. Salma knows that there has to be a link here. Her sisters killer has never been found and she is determined to find them.

This is a book full of juicy gossip and behind the scenes look on a film set. Salma is a mess of a woman but her heart is in the right place. She loved her sister more than anything. I was hooked from the start.

Thanks to Putnam, Penguin Group, Thrilling Book Promotions and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. Publishes on August 8th.
Profile Image for Dennis.
1,077 reviews2,052 followers
July 17, 2023
I've been really excited to read THE HURRICANE BLONDE after seeing this phenomenal cover (which ties directly to the plot of the story FYI) and I couldn't be more grateful that @putnambooks sent me a copy to dive into—thank you! This book is giving all the Hollywood vibes that I wanted and is a fun beach read which will allow you to quickly turn the pages.

Salma Lowe is our lead actress, I mean protagonist in this book and she is a former child star now working as a tour guide for the company "Stars Six Feet Under"—a tour that shows tourists places in which famous people have died or been murdered (for example, The Black Dahlia is featured on this tour). The last stop, however, is the company's money maker because it features Salma's sister, actress Tawney Lowe, dubbed the "Hurricane Blonde." When Salma arrives to the last stop, the tour group sees that there's another woman lying dead in the same pool that her sister once lived. This woman looks just like her sister and the death is just as suspicious. Salma believes she knows who killed her sister all those years ago and now that there's another victim, she decides to find out for herself.

This book is total glitzy, glam, and juicy suspense. I really enjoyed getting to know Salma a lot and the Hollywood vibes were so refreshingly honest. I wonder if Halley Sutton has any connections to Hollywood (I didn't do the Google search yet, sue me) because I felt that there was a deeper connection to Hollywood in this book. Moreso than any other mystery/thriller I've read recently. I think readers will really enjoy the family dynamics between Salma, Tawney, and their famous parents as well. THE HURRICANE BLONDE is a nepotism nightmare and I enjoyed the ride!
Profile Image for Erin .
1,625 reviews1,524 followers
September 15, 2023
This book opens with quotes from Roman Polanski and Alfred Hitchcock...and that definitely sets the tones for this book. The Hurricane Blonde reminded me of the classic movie Chinatown. Not in plot but in the way that they are both about how scummy and corrupt Hollywood is.

The Hurricane Blonde follows Salma Lowe who the fuckup daughter of Hollywood legends and whose sister Tawney was murdered in the mid 90s and dubbed The Hurricane Blonde. Salma who throw away her own Hollywood career is a recovering alcoholic and she now serves as a tour guide for the Stars Six Feet Under tour. One day while leading her tour on the property where her sister died she finds another young woman dead.

The Hurricane Blonde is a murder mystery but it's also an exploration of Hollywood and how powerful men can literally get away with murder if they are considered a genius. I don't think it's a radical idea to say that Hollywood is a cesspool but it's not the only cesspool. Anywhere that rich and powerful men reside, their will be people mostly women being abused. And there will also be people who make excuses for these men and help cover up their crimes in exchange for power or money.

This book was a stressful read. It was stressful living in Salma's head. Salma is unstable. She has reason to be unstable but it was still a very chaotic headspace to be in. I don't know why this book isn't more talked about. I only discovered this book because I was perusing my library and the cover intrigued me.

If you like dark and biting stories about the underbelly of Hollywood glamor than I really think you'll enjoy this book.
Profile Image for Shannon.
8,298 reviews423 followers
August 8, 2023
I was totally drawn to this fantastic cover and the premise that a down on her luck former Hollywood starlet gets drawn back into the dark side of show business when she finds a dead body in her dead sister's pool. Unfortunately I did not love the narrator (she felt very monotonous and it made for a difficult to enjoy audio experience).

I also felt the story was EXTREMELY slow moving. It felt like it took forever for anything interesting to happen after the dead body is discovered. I forced myself to finish this one but regret not DNFing earlier. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!
Profile Image for Chelsey (a_novel_idea11).
707 reviews167 followers
July 25, 2023
Murdered starlets, a dangerous director, and a washed up actor has all the makings of an unputdownable thriller.

The Hurricane Blonde - or Tawney as she's better known to her family - has become a Hollywood legend in her death. Found murdered nearly two decades ago, her murder goes unsolved and everyone has seemingly moved on except her sister, Salma. Salma's own short-lived dabble with Hollywood fame came crashing down after Tawney's death when she coped by masking her sorrow with drugs and alcohol. Now, sober and trying to put her demons behind her, Salma is shoved back to those dark days when she finds yet another starlet dead...and in Tawney's former home. Salma is convinced Tawney's ex-fiance is to blame, but can she prove it?

There's quite a bit going on with this novel and I loved the intersection of fame, sobriety, family, and mystery that is woven through each page. We have the mystery of Tawney's murder on the one hand and on the other, we have Ankine's death, which may or may not be the accident it was determined to be. Our narrator Salma is portrayed as a bit of mess. She has been sober for years but is still grappling with the uncertainty surrounding Tawney's death and now the trauma of finding Ankine dead in Tawney's pool all these years later. It's hard to trust her intuition and I struggled with whether or not to count on her as a reliable narrator.

I also really enjoyed the inner look at Hollywood and what young stars will do for fame. The choking scene was disturbing and what hit even harder was all the onlookers standing by and doing nothing. Cal's set was riddled with humiliation, manipulation, and kowtowing, so again, it was hard to know who and what to trust. Was Cal the monster Salma thought he was, or was he just a mad genius doing whatever it takes to get and stay ahead?

There are good twists in this novel -- twists and secrets I really didn't even think to look for. As Salma learns more about the past, so much of her present makes more sense.

If you love a Hollywood novel that looks beneath all the glitz and glitter, this is definitely one for you. It releases on August 8th and is available for preorder now!

Thank you to Thriller Book Lovers Promotions, Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for the copy.
Profile Image for Chelsea | thrillerbookbabe.
667 reviews999 followers
September 3, 2023
Thank you so much to Putnam, Penguin Audio, and Halley Sutton for my copy of The Hurricane Blonde. This book was nothing like I thought it would be and I loved it. It’s about Salma, a former child star from a famous family. Her parents fell in love on screen and her sister Tawney was made famous for her antics, earning her the name the Hurricane Blonde. She was also murdered in the 90’s and the case is unsolved. Salma leads the “Stars Six Feet Under” bus tour in Hollywood, until a real dead body is found on a tour at the house her sister used to live in.

Salma soon realizes that this woman looks just like her sister and is found in a similar location. As the police start to investigate, Salma decides to go back into the world she left to help find her sister’s killer. The investigation takes her back into her family's history in Hollywood and their long hidden secrets.

Thoughts: The premise of this story immediately caught my attention, especially the dead Hollywood stars tour. I thought Salma was a great flawed main character. Hearing about growing up in Hollywood brought up points about fame, family, sobriety, and privacy. There was lots of juicy drama and suspense, and I flew through this one.

I guessed what happened and who the killer was pretty early on, and I was both happy and disappointed to be proved right. There were some things that didn’t necessarily tie together and I felt could have been better explained. The story was super fun and I think anyone who likes a good family drama will love it. 4-stars!
Profile Image for Christine M in Texas (stamperlady50).
1,998 reviews259 followers
August 9, 2023
The Hurricane Blonde
By: Halley Sutton
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you love old Hollywood full of glitz, glamour, seedy secrets and murder this novel has is all and is FABULOUS!!

Salma Lowe comes from Hollywood royalty. Her parents were well known and loved in Hollywood. After her sister Tawney, also an actress is killed Salma’s life spirals even more. She was a wild child, and now trying to make ends meet she is doing tours as a guide for Stars Six Feet Under. One of the stops involves the place where her sister was killed. All these years later Tawney’s killer has not been named.

Tawney’s boyfriend was the prime suspect according to Salma, but she needs to prove it. Cal is now producing a film about Tawney’s death and she manages to get work on the film.

I could not turn the pages fast enough as more secrets were discovered which led to many who could have killed Tawney.

Will the killer be brought to justice? I could see this as a movie and visualized this fast paced novel which goes between the past and present. Absolutely RIVETING and shows you what lengths a family will go through to protect their secrets.

Thank you Thriller Book Lover Promotions, Netgalley and author Halley Sutton for this advanced copy. This novel is available August 8, 2023.

#thehurricaneblonde, #halleysutton, #putnam, #thrillerbookloverspromotions, #netgalley, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #stamperlady50
Profile Image for Stitching Ghost.
1,483 reviews390 followers
September 8, 2023
It took me a minute to really get into this one but overall it's a pretty decent read about toxic secrets and how Hollywood (and society at large) loves a dead girl and lets talented men get away with things because we can't seem to confront talented people also being terrible people.

I think the novel would have benefited from being a little shorter.

3.5 rounded up.
Profile Image for Cassie.
1,755 reviews174 followers
August 6, 2023
Breaking through the clouds...ghostly white and tacky in thirty-foot-tall plywood, the hungry spirit keeping watch: HOLLYWOOD. The most ravenous bitch who ever lived.

Salma Lowe was once a child star, born into Hollywood royalty, but her acting career ended after she suffered a public fall from grace in the wake of her sister Tawney's murder in the mid-1990s. Tawney Lowe, a young actress on the path to stardom, was strangled by her pool, and her killer was never found. Now, Salma gives Six Feet Under tours around Hollywood, driving tourists greedy for the macabre to locations where starlets met their ends. She's just trying to stay under the radar, stay sober, and stay out of trouble. But Salma is thrust right back into the seediness of Hollywood when a dead body is discovered on one of her tours -- at the very house where Tawney was killed.

In The Hurricane Blonde, Halley Sutton explores the grittier side of Hollywood -- the rot that remains long after the veneer of glitz and glamor have been washed away. This is a dark and daring noir thriller about destructive secrets, dysfunctional relationships, and the drawbacks of fame. The narrative is Salma's first-person point-of-view, and well, our girl is kiiind of a mess -- but she's always trying to be better, which makes her easy to relate to and sympathize with. Sutton's writing kept me riveted as Salma worked through some hard truths and fought for her own redemption. Sutton also makes some overt, important points about post-#MeToo-era Hollywood, where things are "better," but not really better, because awful men are still doing awful things and getting away with it for the sake of their so-called "genius" and their art.

As far as the thriller aspect goes, The Hurricane Blonde definitely hits the mark. It's well-plotted and well-paced, with some surprising, thoughtful, complex twists that call up questions about morality and loyalty. If you enjoy books about the dark side of fame and the shady side of Hollywood, I think you'll enjoy this as much as I did. Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.
Profile Image for Cindy (leavemetomybooks).
1,464 reviews1,363 followers
June 4, 2023
Salma Lowe's family is Hollywood royalty, but after a tumultuous young adulthood she's trying to live an under-the-radar life giving bus tours of famous murder sites... including the house where her sister was murdered. But when Salma finds another dead woman at the same house, she's certain the deaths are related and her investigation leads her to the twisted roots of her family's deepest, darkest secrets.

I LOVED this book. It had Hollywood glamour and rot and awful men behaving terribly and getting away with it because it's for their "art" and a deeply fucked up main character self-consciously working through her own redemption arc. It was funny, dark, twisty, and excellent. READ THIS.

* thanks to Putnam and Thriller Book Lover Promotions for the NetGalley review copy. The Hurricane Blonde publishes August 8th.
Profile Image for Audrey.
653 reviews515 followers
November 17, 2023
My treat to myself. Former child actor, Salma Lowe, now leads the Stars Six Feet Under tour, showcasing the haunting sites where actresses of the past met untimely ends. Mid-tour Salma stumbles upon a dead body, found in the property where her sister Tawney lived in the 90s - and where she was murdered. Viciously dubbed the “Hurricane Blonde,” Tawney’s case was never solved.

Desperate for answers, Salma launches her own investigation, plunging back into the salacious but seductive world of Hollywood. Old secrets may be worth killing for.
Profile Image for Jennifer *Nottoomanybooks*.
499 reviews60 followers
July 28, 2023
Who doesn’t love a juicy Hollywood murder mystery? Tawney was a famous actress born to famous actor parents. She was in a tumultuous relationship with a fellow leading man. One day, her 15 year old sister shows up at her house and finds her strangled to death by the pool. The mystery of Tawney’s death was never solved.

Flash forward to today…..her ex is now a director making a film about Tawney’s life. The actress hired to play Tawney was later found dead IN Tawney’s old actual pool! Family secrets and lies come to fruition.

Twisty and hard to put down, this is a page turner folks! I loved the past and present timelines, and how they eventually came together to solve the mystery of both murders!
Profile Image for Megan Collins.
Author 5 books1,798 followers
March 24, 2023
THE HURRICANE BLONDE is about Salma, a former child star—and daughter of Hollywood royalty—who runs a murder bus tour in LA and one day, during a routine tour, discovers the body of a young actress, whose death is eerily similar to that of Salma’s sister twenty years ago. This book is INCREDIBLE. It’s filled with dark and disturbing twists (my favorite kind!), and has so many highlight-worthy lines. It’s about how far people will go to protect powerful men, about the concessions we make for powerful men in the first place, about the question of whether we can—or should—separate great art from an artist who does terrible things. The writing is at turns sharply clever and achingly beautiful, with a poignant and memorable ending. I was also so fascinated by all the real-life stories of the dark underbelly of Hollywood that were referenced throughout the book, and these twisted anecdotes emphasized the powerful themes even more. And if that’s not enough, this book gives you two compelling mysteries for the price of one. I promise this thriller will hook you from the first page and will stay with you long after you finish.
Profile Image for Matt.
966 reviews220 followers
August 4, 2023
Hollywood and the film industry in books are always something i gravitate towards as a big pop culture fan, so I was expecting to really love this one.
I loved the setting and the unique storyline - our protagonist (a former child star) had a sister (also an actress, both descendants of actor parents) who was found murdered 2 decades ago, and now her former boyfriend wants to direct a film about her death and its investigation…a bit convoluted but promising.
I had an okay time with this one but it definitely did not live up to my expectations. I think my issue here was the writing - I always felt distanced from the characters and the narrator just seemed like an amalgamation of standard thriller tropes. she was a bit boring and i found it hard to root for her or care much about what was going on.
Profile Image for Kay Oliver.
Author 11 books197 followers
July 10, 2023
This novel was so clever. It was crackling and sparking with original voice and unique style. I literally could not put it down. I had to force myself to turn off my Kindle so I could get a few hours of sleep before my morning alarm went off every night.

This is a must read. A bestseller! I wish I could give it ten stars instead of only five.

The Hurricane Blonde died at her house, lounging by the pool. Her sister found her body. Now, her sister works for a Hollywood touring company for murdered celebrities--her sister's house is the last stop of the tour. She finds yet another dead blonde; this time in the pool. She can't help but see this murder's connection to her sister's. And to her sister's fiancee.

This was quite long, but not a but of it was slow or lacking. I was hooked from page one. The writing is superb. Excellent summer thriller that has a dark edge.
Profile Image for Judy.
607 reviews67 followers
March 27, 2024
I can’t even! Such a good premise, such a confusing execution. Got the impression that the author just wasn’t sure how she wanted this book to go, what she wanted it to be. Hot mess! This is one of those books you keep reading hoping it will get better then find yourself so far in that you go ahead and finish, partially because of your investment, partially because you have to see how she’s ever gonna land this thing! Didn’t care too much for the audio narrator either, sounded bored and disconnected somehow from the storyline, like she didn’t know what the heck was going on, just reading something out loud. Although she did a good job voicing starlets.
Profile Image for Jo_Scho_Reads.
1,067 reviews77 followers
August 7, 2023
Former Hollywood child star Salma Lowe has turned her back on stardom and is now a guide on a true crime bus tour. Ironically enough, one of the victims covered on the tour is that of her own sister, the famous Tawney Lowe. Tawney, nicknamed the ‘Hurricane Blonde’ was murdered in the 1990s and still the case remains unsolved and generally forgotten. But when another death occurs, on the grounds where Tawney was found, this old can of worms reopens and Salma decides she needs to shake it all up again to try and get to the bottom of this unsolved years old mystery.

This is Hollywood Noir at its finest. Gritty, edgy, atmospheric and thrilling, it’s a real glimpse into the dark side of
LA. The book is unbelievably evocative, it moves back and forth with switching timelines which adds background and depth to the plot. It had me fascinated, a real glimpse into a misogynistic world, where men call the shots and get away with their power driven demands. And then there is an unsolved murder to deal with.

You’ll be pointing your finger at everyone and anyone. A wonderfully irresistible glimpse into Tinseltown, where the decay lies smouldering just under the surface.
Profile Image for Stephanie Wrobel.
Author 4 books1,462 followers
August 4, 2025
It was SO nice of Halley Sutton to write a book just for me. At the risk of sounding like Bill Hader’s Stefon, this book has everything: 1) a murder bus tour, 2) a hot mess nepo baby protagonist, and 3) a deep dive into Hollywood’s seedy underbelly. The Hurricane Blonde is like your true crime-obsessed friend pulling up a chair next to you at the bar and going, You’re never going to believe this… For the twist lovers, once again, I was bested! Twice in one month! I’m both sad and delighted to report that this particular twist will break your heart a little.
Profile Image for Krista crone.
401 reviews106 followers
August 5, 2023
This was such a juicy, drama filled thriller with a unique look into behind the scenes look on a movie set. It was dark and twisted that had me wondering how the mystery was going to end. I loved unraveling all the family secrets that were buried. If you have the opportunity to pick this book up the audiobook is a great option.

***Many thanks to @thrillerbookloverspromotions and Halley Sutton for my post on the tour and PRHAUDIO for the ALC in turn for my honest review.

Rating it 3.5 stars round up to 4 stars on Goodreads
Profile Image for Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~.
Author 20 books565 followers
September 10, 2023
Really good page-turner that exposes the seedy side of the Hollywood acting life. Everything felt researched and authentic, right down to various locations around town. I really liked Salma as a heroine.
Profile Image for Kim.
994 reviews52 followers
September 6, 2023
I loved every second of this “seedy side of Hollywood movie making” story! Salma, cutely nicknamed Salmon, is a Hollywood Dead Girls tour guide and a recovering alcoholic and all around hot mess. She is also the youngest daughter of the Hollywood IT couple and has lived a life of open doors, free drugs and alcohol, and no consequences for any of her bad behavior. Until the worst happens and her older sister and best friend, a highly sought after starlet, is murdered and Salma thinks she knows who did it. Maddeningly he is still a free man and loved by many. When a second girl dies in the same place that her sister was killed, Salma has had enough and she is going to get to the bottom of how her sister died and make sure the murderer pays this time. This story is so atmospheric, terrifying at times and full of horrible secrets and cover ups all for the movie biz. I hate to say it, but this would make a great movie, lol! Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on August 8, 2023
Profile Image for Kori Potenzone.
891 reviews86 followers
March 15, 2023
I need everyone to head on over to my bookstagram (@thrillbythepage_)

I started this mind bending blow out about 7 hours ago and I read this book from start to finish in one sitting without moving .

The cover completely sold me. I loved the bright colors and the mystery of not being able to figure out what the book was about just by looking at the cover. Now, after I concluded, I understand It completely .

I loved the whole Hollywood setting (I’m a sucker for the lives of the rich and famous) . Everything Halley Sutton narrated, glittered across the pages with such ease .

Jam packed with suspense, twists and a power house gut punch that you will not see coming . This is a book you dont want to miss!

Teaser :

A former child starlet is plunged back into the dangerous glitter of Hollywood after discovering a young actress’s body in this scorching thriller about the deadly sides of both fame and family.

Hollywood is a sickness. Few people understand this better than Salma Lowe, progeny of Hollywood royalty and a former child-star turned guide of the Stars Six Feet Under tour bus. Salma spends her days leading tourists around the star-studded avenues of Hollywood, pointing out where actresses have met spectacular or untimely ends. Salma knows better than anyone that a tragic death is the surest path to stardom. Her own sister, Tawney, dubbed the “Hurricane Blonde” for her off-camera antics, was murdered in the mid-'90s, and the case remains unsolved. Salma herself has sworn off acting and just hopes to stay out of trouble…until a real dead body is discovered on her tour, on the property where her sister once lived.

Salma soon realizes something uncanny: It’s not just that this woman is dead at her sister’s address—she also looks just like her. When the police investigation goes nowhere, Salma has no choice but to plunge herself back into the world she left behind to search for her sister’s killer…who may have just struck again. But the search for the truth will take her deep into the rot of Hollywood past and present, into her family’s own long-buried and terrible secrets.
Profile Image for Elaine.
2,074 reviews1 follower
July 11, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Hurricane Blonde.

Great title and cover!

This is not so much a mystery but more a dissection of the seedy side of Hollywood; the glitz and glamor, the filthy secrets and predatory men (and in some ways, women) in the industry.

** Minor spoilers ahead **

Salma Lowe is the wild child, the youngest daughter of Hollywood royalty, and working in a job beneath her status and stature.

As she struggles to maintain her sobriety and dealing with the loss of her older, glamorous, talented sister from two decades ago, Salma is one again thrust into the spotlight when she discovers another dead body.

At her sister's former residence.

Simmering anger and resentment boils up as Salma is convinced her sister's ex-fiance and the Director of the Century is behind the death of this murdered young woman.

But as Salma plays Nancy Drew (and not that well), she discovers that some secrets are best left alone. Or risk destroying everything she knew about her family and identity.

For someone who lived a partying lifestyle and has been in and out of rehab, she seemed to have very little street smarts.

Perhaps because she's grown up sheltered in a family of prestige and status, but I felt some of Salma's antics were out of character, considering the industry she's grown up in and seen for herself, and the way her own sister was treated by the men around her.

The unsolved murders take a backseat to the more pressing concerns the author wants to make:

How Hollywood chews up and spits out women desperate to be famous; how men will always rule, and predatory behavior can be found anywhere, even in your family.

I did catch a typo in the chapter where Salma pays her respect at the victim's funeral and mourners gather for the victim's funeral. It's written that the mourners 'disburse.'

The correct word is disperse. I hope this has been corrected in the final version of the novel.

I had hoped for a more thriller/mystery narrative, but it was interesting to see how tedious and boring filmmaking really is. Fans get to see the finished product when all the hard work has been completed.

There's very little urgency and suspense, since this is more of a story about Hollywood and how women are relegated to the background or as pretty props.

There are some triggering themes so readers should be aware; verbal abuse, sexual abuse of minors.

I enjoyed the author's writing style, the tone, but I wasn't a fan of Salma or anyone else.

Everyone is unlikable (no surprise there) and the big reveal is anti-climatic.
1,497 reviews21 followers
August 14, 2023
Salma can't believe it when she finds the body of an actress in the same pool where her sister died. Convinced it's not just an accident, Salma throws herself into investigating what really happened to both women.

This book was a solid thriller. By the end, I felt like I knew each character well enough to be able to judge who was behind the killings, but boy was I wrong! There were quite a few twists thrown into the loop which made the story more exciting. I'll definitely be on the lookout to read more by this author.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Jessi - TheRoughCutEdge.
638 reviews31 followers
August 15, 2023
This was quite the story and I really enjoyed being thrown back in time and the mystery of “whodunit”. The characters were all quite difficult to get a good grasp on which added to the plot but even with all the twists and turns I did guess the big reveal very early. Still, it was a great setting that tapped into old Hollywood with emphasis on workplace anxiety and potential killers around every corner.

If you enjoy true crime themes this fictional accounting of an unsolved Hollywood starlets murder will be right up your alley!

Thank you Putnam for the arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Lydia Underhill.
512 reviews27 followers
September 10, 2023
This mystery thriller was neither mysterious nor thrilling. I feel like Halley Sutton would have been better off writing this as a family drama beacause it seems the social commentary on Hollywood was her main priority. I may have enjoyed this had she come at this idea from a different angle, but by attempting to make this a thriller she massively missed the mark.

Trigger warnings for: sexual abuse of minors and eating disorders
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