Los Angeles, 1943. As the Allies beat back the Nazis in the Mediterranean and the United States military slowly closes in on Tokyo, Walt Disney cranks out wartime propaganda and the Cocoanut Grove is alive with jazz and swing each night. But behind this sunny façade lies a darker reality. Somewhere in the lush foothills of Hollywood, a woman floats, lifeless, in the pool of one of California’s trendiest hotels. When American-born secret agent and British spy Maggie Hope learns that this woman was engaged to her old flame, John Sterling, and that he suspects her death was no accident, intuition tells her he’s right. Leaving London under siege—not to mention flying thousands of miles—is a lot to ask. But John was once the love of Maggie’s life . . . and she won’t say no.
Maggie is shocked to find Los Angeles as divided as Europe itself—the Zoot Suit Riots loom large and the Ku Klux Klan casts a long shadow. As she marvels at the hatred in her home country, she can’t help but wonder what it will be like to see her lost love once again. But there is little time to dwell on memories once she starts digging into the case. As she traces a web of deception from the infamous Garden of Allah to the iconic Carthay Theater, she discovers things aren’t always the way things appear in the movies—and the political situation in America is more complicated, and dangerous, than the newsreels would have them all believe.
What an interesting story! There is something about a book that I enjoy so much that it makes me look through the bibliography for more information on the topic.
The Hollywood Spy is a historical novel set in Hollywood during World War II. I recognized the author as someone I read before, but I didn’t realize this was part of a series that I stopped reading, for some unknown reason, a few years ago. Anyway, after I read a few chapters the characters triggered my memory.
Maggie Hope is in California to help a former love interest try to find out what happened to his fiancé. Her investigation exposes corruption in the police department, underground spy networks, racism, the American Nazi organization, the KKK, and other fanatical groups that are working against Roosevelt and the military.
The story is very interesting on multiple levels. While this is the tenth book in the Maggie Hope Mystery series, it works as a standalone. There is a history among some of the characters, but not knowing the former relationships did not take away from the story. It also helps that the location is different than the other stories.
While this is a work of fiction there are actual incidents mixed into the encounters that face Maggie and company. I knew about the racism and separation of black and white in venues and hotels from documentaries about Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, and other performers of that time. What I didn't know was the fanatical murders, underground spy networks, corrupt cops (although they are everywhere), etc. that is a part of the story. What an eye-opener!
I enjoyed revisiting the characters. They are all distinct and complement one another while telling a story that is sometimes difficult to read. In the end, the author's notes sent me on a quest for some of her reference books. The older I get, the more I realize what I never knew and need to know. It is true that fact is sometimes stranger than fiction. I learned a lot. I’m going back to where I left off to fill in the gaps in this series. If you love historical novels that make you think while it entertains, The Hollywood Spy is for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment