Jezebel In Blue Satin
1947 The Hollywood Murder Mysteries, No 1
Peter S Fischer

The Grove Point Press
November 2011/ ISBN-10: 0984681906 / ISBN-13: 978-0984681907
Historical mystery
Amazon

Reviewed by Cheryl Green

Picture this: returning World War II vet, Joe Bernardi, now publicist for Continental Pictures, stumbles over the dead body of an ingénue-- I mean stand-in, -- for the leading lady. Maggie Baumann AKA Vivienne Deverau, whom he found with a bullet in her head. Now the cops figure that Joe must be the killer. They have gone to the trouble of trying to frame Joe by planting a gun at his house. Our boy Joe is too smart for these coppers and fakes them out by storing the weapon at a neighbor's apartment.

There are plenty of characters -- I mean suspects -- for Joe to check out. The washed up leading lady was counting on the studio's next big movie to complete her comeback……so why was the director seen with Maggie Baumann? Did he think she was right for the part?

Well the autopsy report is in, and there is even a bigger development…….Maggie was pregnant when she was murdered. So who was the baby daddy? There are lots of choices, from the studio hatchet man to the handsome leading man, or even an ex-husband.

Joe will have to rewrite the script or he will end up in the big house without a "get out of jail free" card. While all he really wants to do is write the great American novel and get back with his ex, Joe will have to put on his thinking cap and try and stay at least one step ahead of the cops.

This is the start of a beautiful friendship -- I mean read -- because the author is writing a series of mysteries with one for each year going forward in time. If you like your mysteries sprinkled with Hollywood legends, then this is the series for you. It is a fun romp through life in the late forties with the flavor of old Hollywood. Great characters and a fast paced story make this a fun read. Can't wait to get my hands on the next book.