Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

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

6 reviews

bellulapatata's review

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 against another edition

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

bmpicc's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

3.0

Lana Turner, or Lana Turner type characters, have shown up in several of my reads lately. I saw this on Libby and thought, why not? This was very interesting and complete Hollywood trash, but it did hold my attention. If you like stories about Sean Connery punching a dude in the face, or a gentleman's appendage being compared to a coveted acting award then this might be the book for you.

It felt well researched but I do wonder, if I read HER actual books... would I get to know her better? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

mindsplinters's review

informative sad medium-paced

3.5

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 2/13/2024.  Lana Turner was gorgeous and talented and rich and had the absolute worst taste in men.  We're talking Go On Jerry Springer And Hang Your Head As The Audience Hoots taste.  But she was scrappy and determined and has given us both one heck of a movie catalog and one of the Great Classic Hollywood Scandals... Involving a man, of course.  

The author chose to approach the death of Johnny Stompanato from two sides, setting the format of this book as a sort of v, two lines converging to that fatal night and its fall-out.  On one side, you have Lana Turner, formerly Julia Jean Turner, coming from poverty and a broken home and a father's unsolved murder to become the famous Sweater Girl, then the most glamourous actress, then, against all odds of the time, an independent woman with her own production company - paving the way for the likes of Marilyn Monroe (who, ironically, she gave advice to when Monroe was still young and new).  On the other side, you have the mob and gangsters and the likes of Mickey Cohen, Johnny Stompanato's boss and buddy.  Following this structure, the reader gets a really layered look at the various levels of Hollywood and how the worlds overlapped and interacted.  

The book was well written and well researched and I really enjoyed the two prong approach.  That said, every so often, there were points where it suddenly felt less like non-fiction and more like a would-be novel.  Some of the rumor and hear-say presented as factual as the actual facts and some things handed to the reader as This Is What Happened.  Plus a little redundancy in places but you can't fault the author for that when Lana's dating history is filled with a lot of abuse and cover-up.  Blame the times and you understand why she avoided going to the police - even if every fiber of you screams at her to get a PFA immediately.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Bullying, and Sexual violence

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

   A new perspective on the decades-old "murder" of Lana Turner's lover.
   I can see this perspective but either way, and I hate to say terrible things about the "victim" he wasn't a good guy and deserved what he got. He probably would have been murdered at some point by a rival mafia guy. She had to marry him to live with him or sleep with him.
     He beat her, he drugged her, and took explicit photos of her, and it was the 1950s! She would have gotten the death penalty. So, whether Cheryl or Lana did it, good riddance. He wasn't a good guy at all. And in today's world IF Lana did it, she would not have been convicted, most likely.
  The book had some language that was seriously sexist and misogynist. Which is one reason I didn't rate it great. As well as just not being that interesting or adding anything new to an old story. It seemed well-researched though so it wasn't a total dud.

Narrator Rating: 2 stars 
    I'll say it louder for the people in the back. Do NOT read your non-fiction unless it's a memoir or you're a professional in some audio media. The author didn't do a great job and I HATE his voice!
 

Elemental Levels:  Fluff-0/5  Heartfelt-4/5   Helpful-1/5     Horror-NA    Inspiration-NA  
Love aka Romance -NA   Mystery-NA    Predictability-NA   Spice-NA    Suspense-NA    Tear-4/5  
Thrill-NA Humor-NA 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Pedophilia, Death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Rape, Stalking, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Racism, and Miscarriage

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