Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime by Casey Sherman

3 reviews

bellulapatata's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Abortion, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Physical abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicide

ginabelle's review

dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

2.5

I enjoyed thus gritty yet glamorous behind-the-scenes look into 1930s Hollywood. I will say that 80% of the book is about Lana Turner and her life, with a small part actually dedicated to the murder scandal and the fallout, so be prepared for that. Also, I think the author’s note was a nice sentiment of acknowledging Lana’s pain and struggles, forming her into an early feminist figure, and I wish that was more present throughout the book. Some of the verbiage seemed purposefully sensationalist and I wish more care was taken throughout if advocacy was going to be the author’s lasting end statement. Overall, it was pretty good!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Sexual violence, Stalking, Physical abuse, Death, Incest, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Cursing

Moderate: Abortion, Gun violence, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Alcohol, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Minor: Cancer

chezler24's review against another edition

dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.5

I enjoy reading about this period in Hollywood, and this was a nice non-fiction book to break up my reading. The glitz and glamour of stardom married so closely with the sleaze of the underground mob life and seedier individuals at the studios makes the period a prime breeding ground for gripping, infamous stories. Sherman's book brought to light a murder case I had not looked into. For a true crime book, this reads pretty fluidly. I appreciated how the author handled certain aspects and wrapped up sensitive topics in the author's note. Some details seemed a bit unnecessary (such as the quote at the bottom of page 157), and some dialogue that has been paraphrased can raise some questions regarding the validity of the factual aspect of the book. Aside from that, Sherman was able to demonstrate how the lives of the various involved parties developed and slowly converged on that fateful day of Stompanato's death. I don't think we'll ever truly know what occurred that day but its mark will forever be made in pop culture history.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Stalking, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, and Pedophilia

Minor: Racism