BEVERLY HILLS DEAD
Stuart Woods
Signet
Thriller
Hardcover: 9780399154690
Paperback: 9780451224781

• Read an Excerpt

It is the McCarthy era in America. Hollywood in the 1940s is a hotbed of talent, as well as politically active characters, many of whom Americans have come to love.

Rick Barron, the head of production for Centurion Pictures, is assembling personalities and resources for a blockbuster film titled Bitter Creek, which is colorfully referred to as a “cattle and water western.” The former Beverly Hills cop would like to cast new faces, all in leading roles. He contracts with a rancher in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to purchase a large ranch for filming, and will use local cattlemen and others from nearby towns as “extras.” The trade union for extras takes serious issue with this decision, as they are being shut out of the movie.

Meanhwhile, photocopies of Communist Party of America membership cards are being sent to Rick’s office. He doesn’t really take notice until one arrives that belongs to his wife. Hearings organized by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) are to begin very soon, and he doesn’t want anyone from Centurion Studios, especially his wife, implicated.

Below the surface, many of the actors and studio executives are quite concerned that the Screen Actors Guild will create a Hollywood blacklist. Although it has committed to support them throughout the HUAC meetings, there are whispers that governmental pressures will force the guild to create and adhere to the blacklist of their members.

Throughout life, people make a number of choices, some of which are bad. Everyone has a past that eventually will catch up to them, especially if they are in the limelight. When a famous person’s past is discovered and revealed, there are often ugly ramifications.

While usual favorites like Stone Barrington, Holly Barker and Will Lee do not appear in this sequel to THE PRINCE OF BEVERLY HILLS, Stuart Woods populates the novel with a slew of interesting characters. One such individual is Vance Calder; born in England, he has stage experience but is new to the Hollywood scene and to films. Calder is immediately popular and successful enough for the studio executives to sign him to an exclusive multi-picture contract. There is political intrigue, Hollywood studio-types, actors and actresses, and several subplots to keep the reader interested and alert.

All in all, Woods has his audience captivated with a fresh look at the HUAC hearings, Hollywood backlot adventures and intriguing characters who we hope to see in future books.

    --- Reviewed by Marge Fletcher

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