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A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime by Casey Sherman
taherasplace's review
medium-paced
3.25
In my opinion marketing the book as an 'untold story of tinseltown's most shocking crime' is bit of a stretch considering one has to just type Lana Turner's name in the search bar to find detailed stories and articles about this case spread across the internet. I knew about this case years before this book published.
There is nothing new added to this book except for fictional dialogues and a separate narrative of Mickey Cohen's life and dealings as a gangster which in the grand scheme of things has no strong connection to the actual case except for him being Johnny Stompanato's boss.
Lana Turner's story covers her childhood and her journey towards Hollywood success which is, in proportions, filled with physical, sexual and substance abuse. I don't know if it was her insecurity or plainly her preference but Lana Turner had terrible taste in men! With one disastrous relationship after another, Lana still continued to choose violent men, who not only mistreated her but also sexually preyed on her young daughter Cheryl.
The one place where the author veers away from the narrative is his 'claim' that it was not Cheryl but Lana Turner who stabbed Stompanato to death and as a minor Cheryl only took the blame to protect her mother, with the subsequent murder trial being Lana's performance of a lifetime.
I don't know if the author has any solid proof for this 'claim' because he never shares any evidence for his POV in the book but anyone who has read the articles on the internet will know that even to this day, after years having passed and all the main players being long dead, Cheryl maintains that she solely acted on her own accord when she stabbed Stompanato to protect her mother, with Lana having no prior knowledge as to what would tranpire.
I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author himself.
There is nothing new added to this book except for fictional dialogues and a separate narrative of Mickey Cohen's life and dealings as a gangster which in the grand scheme of things has no strong connection to the actual case except for him being Johnny Stompanato's boss.
Lana Turner's story covers her childhood and her journey towards Hollywood success which is, in proportions, filled with physical, sexual and substance abuse. I don't know if it was her insecurity or plainly her preference but Lana Turner had terrible taste in men! With one disastrous relationship after another, Lana still continued to choose violent men, who not only mistreated her but also sexually preyed on her young daughter Cheryl.
The one place where the author veers away from the narrative is his 'claim' that it was not Cheryl but Lana Turner who stabbed Stompanato to death and as a minor Cheryl only took the blame to protect her mother, with the subsequent murder trial being Lana's performance of a lifetime.
I don't know if the author has any solid proof for this 'claim' because he never shares any evidence for his POV in the book but anyone who has read the articles on the internet will know that even to this day, after years having passed and all the main players being long dead, Cheryl maintains that she solely acted on her own accord when she stabbed Stompanato to protect her mother, with Lana having no prior knowledge as to what would tranpire.
I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author himself.
lalawoman416's review against another edition
4.0
Knew nothing of this story and I grew up in LA! Still think Lana did it. My criticism of this is that it read more like a biography of Lana than a true crime story since only the last 1/4, and maybe not even that, was dedicated to the crime.
melodyriggs's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
I never knew this story about Lana Turner. And old Hollywood sounded like a wild place. While an interesting story, the writing itself was just okay.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.0
Lana Turner was born in 1921 in Idaho. She was discovered by a talent scout in 1936 while visiting a soda shop. She began her career in show business, landing several major roles. She was a very attractive woman and had a pretty public love life. She was married to Artie Shaw, a musician. After their divorce, she married fellow actor Steven Crane, with whom she had one child, Cheryl. She married Bob Topping, a wealthy socialite, next. During this marriage, she went through issues with the film studio, gave birth to a stillborn child, financial problems, a suicide attempt, and another divorce. After this, she married another actor, Lex Barker, and had another stillborn child. She had three other marriages after this before her romance with gangster Johnny Stompanato. He was physically abusive towards Lana, which was nothing new to her, considering her past marital problems. During one argument, Stompanato found himself stabbed to death, with Lana's daughter, Cheryl, taking the blame. This book discusses the life, career, and relationships of Lana, but the last part of the book focuses heavily on this murder case.
I thought the book was very interesting. I didn't find a boring part in it. I love Mafia books, so reading about gangsters and film stars of yesteryear was right up my alley. This book was for sale at CrimeCon 2024, but I bought the Audible version. If you are interested in either of the aforementioned things, or just looking for an interesting murder case, this was a solid book.
I thought the book was very interesting. I didn't find a boring part in it. I love Mafia books, so reading about gangsters and film stars of yesteryear was right up my alley. This book was for sale at CrimeCon 2024, but I bought the Audible version. If you are interested in either of the aforementioned things, or just looking for an interesting murder case, this was a solid book.