tl;dr
A bit of mystery, and a lot of human drama, featuring two surprisingly genuine leads.

Thoughts
When it comes to mysteries, detective leads are all about the case, but PI leads tend to have a lot of personal stuff going on as well. Balancing out the mystery and personal life is always tricky, but Emily Bain Murphy manages to hit that balance really well. The main puzzle stays in the forefront of the plot, but a series of flashbacks and help give us context on Cora and her very complicated history with Jack. The book veered off my expectations a little bit with them - the two leads are a PI and a con man, and yet they were probably the least duplicitous characters in the whole thing. In the end, I think it's their honesty that made them such a good match, though. Both smart and capable, but also emotionally vulnerable, for a slow burn relationship that unfolded in a very natural way. The other characters are all hot messes in that dramatic way that makes you not want to look away, and they all fit very neatly into the glamorous and hideous silver screen era of Hollywood.

Thanks to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!