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

dark informative sad fast-paced

4.0

Anyone interested in Old Hollywood has probably heard about the scandalous murder of Lana Turner’s gangster lover. I knew little about what had happened so the premise of this book was very intriguing. This is non-fiction where the author embellishes situations by using his own imagination to bring situations to life. The benefit of this style of non-fiction is that story becomes more readable, compared to a purely factual, straightforward account of someone’s life. The drama of Lana’s life is just over the top and jaw-dropping at times. 

But this book is not only about Lana Turner. There is more information about the history of gangsters than I expected, but since that is an integral part of Lana’s life as well as Hollywood history, it is another interesting facet of the whole picture. 

The author is an advocate for Lana and her daughter, explaining how the system affected Lana’s choices, and illuminating her strength despite all the challenges she dealt with and poor decisions she made. Women in Hollywood at that time were pure pawns and she did fight the system as much as she could and stand up for herself, even against the criminal elements. 

A great book for history buffs and especially those interested in Hollywood. 

Thanks NetGalley and Sourcebooks for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review. 

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