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A review by saltygalreads
Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James
5.0
After the end of a long-term romantic relationship, Annie Lawrence, writer and playwright, decides to move across the US for a job offer with Pacific Pictures. It is 1944 and the US is at war. Six nights a week, the Hollywood Canteen opens its doors to 1500-2000 servicemen for free food, drink, dancing and entertainment before the men ship off for duty. Like others in the industry, Annie volunteers at the canteen, and makes the acquaintance of Fiona Farris, witty and sharp of tongue and pen, who writes about the entertainment industry.
Annie becomes fast friends with Fiona and joins the “ambassador club” an informal group of failed celebrities who party and drown their sorrows together. Fueled by alcohol, the group is a dysfunctional mix of friendship, laughter, envy and competition. One evening at the canteen, Fiona dies suddenly of poisoning and everyone in her circle is a suspect, including Annie. Did someone in Annie’s new circle of friends murder Fiona? And what about Annie, who has more of a history with Fiona than she admits? Annie assumes the role of amateur detective to figure out the killer and determine which friends she can actually trust, while two corrupt LAPD detectives eye Annie with suspicion.
All I can say is “wow”! This wonderful novel transported me to WWII Los Angeles during the golden era of the big movie studios. The movie industry is big business, and the studios are all-powerful in tinsel town, making or breaking careers and lives at will. Of course gossip columnists and entertainment writers are powerful as well, with the ability to elevate or destroy a career at the flick of a pen. This was the era of Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper, when a mention in their newspaper columns could be a victory or a catastrophe. So the murder of Fiona Farris, right before she is about to publish a bombshell article, makes perfect sense. The plot and pace are consistently engaging and exciting; the characters so vividly depicted that they performed a Technicolor film in my imagination. Annie is a likeable and sympathetic character, a lamb in a town full of wolves, who finds her feet and perseveres to a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed this novel so much! Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for this digital copy.
Annie becomes fast friends with Fiona and joins the “ambassador club” an informal group of failed celebrities who party and drown their sorrows together. Fueled by alcohol, the group is a dysfunctional mix of friendship, laughter, envy and competition. One evening at the canteen, Fiona dies suddenly of poisoning and everyone in her circle is a suspect, including Annie. Did someone in Annie’s new circle of friends murder Fiona? And what about Annie, who has more of a history with Fiona than she admits? Annie assumes the role of amateur detective to figure out the killer and determine which friends she can actually trust, while two corrupt LAPD detectives eye Annie with suspicion.
All I can say is “wow”! This wonderful novel transported me to WWII Los Angeles during the golden era of the big movie studios. The movie industry is big business, and the studios are all-powerful in tinsel town, making or breaking careers and lives at will. Of course gossip columnists and entertainment writers are powerful as well, with the ability to elevate or destroy a career at the flick of a pen. This was the era of Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper, when a mention in their newspaper columns could be a victory or a catastrophe. So the murder of Fiona Farris, right before she is about to publish a bombshell article, makes perfect sense. The plot and pace are consistently engaging and exciting; the characters so vividly depicted that they performed a Technicolor film in my imagination. Annie is a likeable and sympathetic character, a lamb in a town full of wolves, who finds her feet and perseveres to a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed this novel so much! Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for this digital copy.