When you create such things as Jurassic Park and other fantastic works of fiction over the years, you tend to be a can’t-miss type author. Michael Crichton has become said author. So, when a never-released book, A Murder in Hollywood, from the 1970s is published, I had to dive in. While the quality of writing is there, it’s just not the story I had hoped for.
In the glitz and decadence of 1970s Hollywood, an era when sex and drugs are readily available on any movie set, the writer of the next Western blockbuster, Bloodrock, has just been found dead in his motel bathtub. Now publicist Harvey Jason is desperately trying to keep the project on track while the famed Harlow Perkins, a brilliant and ruthless investigator, begins to unravel the mystery and hunt the killer down.
From scorching-hot desert locations to sleazy motel bars, the members of the cast and crew–each one with a very dark secret of their own–will send this case deeper and deeper into a maze of confusion and shadows until the shocking truth is revealed.
Will the murderer be found?
Or will the true identity of the killer turn out to be just another Hollywood illusion?
Now, was I expecting for the outstanding science-fiction Crichton is known for, of course not. I was however hoping for something a bit deeper than a popcorn murder mystery based on a movie set. Finding a dead body on a movie set and having to solve the mystery behind it was an intriguing plot and I was at least entertained.
Like with other books, including Jurassic Park (which was adapted into one of my favorite movies), Crichton doesn’t shy away from being as accurate as possible. You can tell Michael did his research before writing A Murder in Hollywood. The downside…it’s definitely full of terminology and insight into the world of making movies that almost felt overwhelming at times. While it was important in this story and Crichton did explain most of the abbreviations or positions well, it just felt like it was more about explaining the ins and outs of a movie production and less about someone being killed.
This book did have me guessing who or if anyone on set did actually commit murder or how exactly it would end, which is what you want in an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery. So job well done! It’s just the surrounding stuff that had me a bit overwhelmed. Crichton is a fantastic writer and even in this earlier works it shows.
What made A Murder in Hollywood even more enjoyable for me was listening to it on audiobook. Ray Porter is one of the best narrators in the history of audio drama. His voice has this timbre that is unmistakable and adds so much to the experience. This is what drove me to finish this book in a quick pace, the incredible voice of Porter.
Despite not being the best Michael Crichton novel ever, A Murder in Hollywood was still an entertaining, old-school murder mystery based in the chaos of 1970s filmmaking. The behind-the-scenes studio production details sometimes overshadowed the mystery at hand, but Cricthton’s ability to craft a story kept me guessing.
A Murder in Hollywood is available at bookstores everywhere from Blackstone Publishing. The audiobook, narrated by Ray Porter, is available at Libro.fm!
NOTE: We received an advance copy of A Murder in Hollywood from the publisher. Opinions are our own.
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