Description
“Sherlock Holmes has lost his dog? We have bigger crimes to solve. Go find him yourself!” That’s what the Los Angeles Police Department told Basil Rathbone. The City Pound ridiculed him as well.
Asta, the dog from the popular Thin Man series, has also vanished, and production for his next film is pending. MGM Studios offers a huge reward, and that’s exactly what young private detectives Babs Norman and Guy Brandt need for their struggling business to survive. Celebrity dognapping now a growing trend, Basil also hires them to find his missing Cocker Spaniel.
The three concoct a plan for Basil to assume his on-screen persona and round up possible suspects, including Myrna Loy and William Powell; Dashiell Hammett, creator of The Thin Man; Nigel Bruce, Basil’s on-screen Doctor Watson; Hollywood-newcomer, German philanthropist and film financier Countess Velma von Rache, and the top animal trainers in Tinseltown. Yet everyone will be in for a shock when the real reason behind the canine disappearances is even more sinister than imagined.
Jump into Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, Book One of the Babs Norman Golden Age of Hollywood Mystery series, Finalist in the Killer Nashville Claymore Awards for Comedy and First Prize winner in the Chanticleer Review’s Mark Twain Awards for Comedy and Satire.
Get ready for its sequel, Bye, Bye, Blackbird, featuring Humphrey Bogart and the cast of The Maltese Falcon.
My Thoughts
If the madcap detective films of the 1930s had a bookish sister, it would be this book. Crowens dives deeply into the Hollywood that produced those iconic films starring William Powell, Myrna Loy, Nigel Bruce, and Basil Rathbone and overlays them with a clever, sassy mystery featuring as snarky a detective as I’ve ever encountered.
Crowens writes with abandon, deliciously describing the naughty and often hilarious goings-on behind the scenes in Tinseltown. I was reminded of one of my all-time favorite series of books by George Baxt which feature mysteries surrounding Hollywood royalty. Those are mostly out of print and hard to come by, so I am happy to see a 21st century author plumbing the depths of Old Hollywood for some fun mysteries.
This is a quick read that will appeal to fans of cozy and historical mystery stories.
Book Details:
Genre: Golden Age of Hollywood Humorous Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: March 2024
Number of Pages: 299
Series: A Babs Norman Hollywood Mystery, Book 1
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Book Shortlinks:
Amazon – https://pictbooks.tours/mGh0H
Goodreads – https://pictbooks.tours/TsSyN
Author Bio
Elizabeth Crowens has worn many hats in the entertainment industry and has a popular Caption Contest on Facebook. She has three award-winning alternate history novels. Awards include 2020 Leo B. Burstein Scholarship from the MWA-NY Chapter, New York Foundation of the Arts grant, an Eric Hoffer Award, Honorable Mention in the Glimmer Train Awards, and two grand prize and five first prize Chanticleer Awards, including Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, the first in her Babs Norman Hollywood series, which is also a Killer Nashville Claymore Awards finalist and part of her three-book publishing deal with Level Best Books
Catch Up With Elizabeth Crowens:
www.ElizabethCrowens.com
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BookBub – @ECrowens
Instagram – @crowens_author
Twitter/X – @ECrowens
Facebook – @thereel.elizabeth.crowens