Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen: A Novel

In 1943 Hollywood, the Hollywood Canteen is a club for servicemen staffed exclusively by those in show business. When film critic Fiona Farris is found dead in the Canteen kitchen, Annie Laurence, a murder mystery playwright, realizes any one of the Canteen's luminous volunteers could be guilty of the crime. To catch the killer, Annie falls in with Fiona's friends, a bitter and cynical group called the Ambassador's Club, who call themselves the "Ambassador's Club". Solving a murder in real life is harder than writing one for the stage, and by involving herself in the secrets and lies of the Ambassador's Club, Annie may have put a target on her own back. This vibrant, utterly delightful mystery expertly captures the drama, glamour, and absurdity of wartime Hollywood, with Sarah James's swift dialogue, dry wit, and clever characters transporting you into a 1940s movie.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 07 December 2023
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc

Glamorous and suspenseful, Marie Benedict's The Only Woman in the Room and The Mitford Affair are must-reads for fans of murder mystery novels. Set in 1943 Hollywood, the Hollywood Canteen is a club for servicemen staffed exclusively by those in show business. Annie Laurence, a murder mystery playwright who has just moved to town after a devastating breakup, hopes to rub elbows with the right stars and get her movie made.

However, Hollywood proves to be more than tinsel and glamour. When despised film critic Fiona Farris is found dead in the Canteen kitchen, Annie realizes that any one of the Canteen's luminous volunteers could be guilty of the crime. To catch the killer, Annie falls in with Fiona's friends, a bitter and cynical group called the Ambassador's Club.

Solving a murder in real life is a lot harder than writing one for the stage, and by involving herself in the secrets and lies of the Ambassador's Club, Annie puts a target on her own back. This vibrant, utterly delightful mystery expertly captures the drama, glamour, and absurdity of wartime Hollywood. Sarah James's swift dialogue, dry wit, and clever characters transport you into a 1940s movie, where the jokes are quick, the love affairs scandalous, and the cast as charming as they are flawed.

Underneath it all, James's deep knowledge of the era's movies and music lends an authenticity that makes the rest shine even brighter. I laughed, gasped, and never wanted it to end. This should head straight to the top of every must-read list.

Dimension: 210 x 140 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781728252254