Scan barcode
ejschell33's review against another edition
4.0
What's not to love about this book? Working in the movie industry (at the very bottom of the chain) definitely helped strike my interest in this topic. I'm also quite intrigued with non-fiction crime novels. This sorry was so well written considering the numerous characters and many intricate details. The end of each chapter gave just enough mystery to make it nearly impossible to put down.
bfth23's review against another edition
2.0
Not very good, but very long. Much speculation as this fictionalized account of things that happened in Hollywood at the beginning of the last century.
julia_rhys's review against another edition
3.0
Decent book that delved into the history of Hollywood and it’s conflicts with censorship. Though the writing style was dry, as most true-crime books are, I would read other books by this author. The one thing that drove me a little nuts was how he spelled “clew”. It’s C-L-U-E. I know that’s a small detail, but every time I read that word I wanted to write the editor. Hopefully it doesn’t happen in other books.
Rating System:
5 Stars: LOVED it, Everyone in the world should read this book!
4 Stars: Very much enjoyed, if not loved. Makes you think.
3 Stars: Enjoyed the book, pretty average. Good weekend read.
2 Stars: The book was a struggle to get through and I have some major problems with it.
1 Star: I hated it. Probably didn’t finish. Wasn’t for me, but may be for someone else.
Rating System:
5 Stars: LOVED it, Everyone in the world should read this book!
4 Stars: Very much enjoyed, if not loved. Makes you think.
3 Stars: Enjoyed the book, pretty average. Good weekend read.
2 Stars: The book was a struggle to get through and I have some major problems with it.
1 Star: I hated it. Probably didn’t finish. Wasn’t for me, but may be for someone else.
ickl333's review against another edition
not feeling the murder mystery when, more than halfway in, said murder has yet to take place
meganivy04's review against another edition
While the topic is what I like, the audio format was the wrong choice. I struggled with keeping the people separate and wasn’t picking up on the connections between them all. Might try it again, if I can find a print version.
sscs's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like this author really wanted to write the history of Hollywood, but then used a famous murder to tie it all together, which sort of worked but not really. I did learn a lot about the history of Hollywood, I'll give him that. But I kept thinking, "wait, what does this have to do with the murder again?"
libkatem's review against another edition
4.0
Look, you know I love me some classic Hollywood, and this book is pretty great. The unsolved murder of a closeted gay man leading to the Hays Code? Yeah, sign me up!
The only thing is, Mann tries so hard to be DRAMATIC that it comes off as REPETITIVE.
Got it. Everyone connected with Hollywood has secrets.
Seeeeeeeeeecrets.
Could have done with a little bit less details, this got long.
The only thing is, Mann tries so hard to be DRAMATIC that it comes off as REPETITIVE.
Got it. Everyone connected with Hollywood has secrets.
Seeeeeeeeeecrets.
Could have done with a little bit less details, this got long.
staceylovestoread's review against another edition
5.0
1920s Hollywood and true crime have long held a fascination for me so when I came across this audiobook I had to give it a listen. Full of historical information about the forming of the motion picture industry, along with the stories of many of the people involved, it didn't disappoint. I also enjoyed the narrator very much. I like that he didn't try to recreate different voices but still managed to differentiate between characters. I would listen to him again.
renatasnacks's review against another edition
3.0
My book club picked this in the midst of Serial-induced true crime fever. It's not a genre that I'm widely read in, or that I have much interest in? Nor am I terribly interested in mysteries, generally. I liked the obvious research that Mann did into this unsolved Hollywood murder, and I liked all the background detail about Hollywood in the 20s. It was a bit of a slog to get through... there's a LOT of detail about Hollywood in the 20s here. Also a lot of people to keep track of.
I would say I recommend it if you are particularly interested in true crime, or Hollywood in the 20s, or some other aspect of this. It might be a bit much for a general reader like me.
I would say I recommend it if you are particularly interested in true crime, or Hollywood in the 20s, or some other aspect of this. It might be a bit much for a general reader like me.