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missyjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
New Year’s Eve 1952, PI Aloysius Archer is in LA to see his friend and aspiring actress Liberty Callahan. While they attend a Hollywood party, a friend of Liberty’s stops by their table and wants to hire Archer because she is afraid that someone is trying to kill her. The next day the woman, Ellie Lamb, is missing and Archer finds a dead man in her house. Mr. Baldacci did a great job of making this 1950’s old Hollywood, film noir style book work. It had the feel of old movies, with a few historical things thrown in and some good humor. I especially enjoyed the asides about fearing to drink a White Russian because of the cold war and Joe McCarthy. I had never read this character series before and found it fun to listen to. The narration was well done and there were female voice actors for the female parts. This made the story more enjoyable for me because I was not distracted by a male trying to do female voices and make so many female characters have different inflections and styles. I only found the last few chapters to drag a bit as the story was tied up.
emily_y's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
tori4819's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
poppycakes97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lhart2222's review against another edition
1.0
DNF 150 pages in. Both too much and too little is happening all at once. A lot of characters, scenes and conversations however, very little developments, plot or progress.
Nothing overly wrong with the book, the writing and plot have dragged on making me fall away from reading. I’m sure Baldacci is a fine writer, but Dream Town was a miss for me.
Nothing overly wrong with the book, the writing and plot have dragged on making me fall away from reading. I’m sure Baldacci is a fine writer, but Dream Town was a miss for me.
crumb92's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mariasimson's review against another edition
4.0
I think I need to read the whole series now. I really enjoyed reading this book and was very invested in the story. I couldn't help but compare the writing to James Patterson mainly due to the fact that the writing was kind of juvenile but that could be because the setting was the 50s. I really enjoyed reading this mainly because I was on the edge of my seat. the first half of this book is slow mainly because the story is progressing. you get an idea of who the important players are in this book. I loved the second half mainly because I couldn't put it down. my heart was racing and I did not see any of the twists. I enjoyed that this book was more female evolved. the readers get to see the 50s Hollywood and the craziness that goes on to the rise of fame. I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to read more from the series.
s_mivsek's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
emily_loves_2_read's review against another edition
4.0
Dream Town
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Thriller / Crime Fiction
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 4/19/22
Author: David Baldacci
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 432
Goodreads Rating: 4.23
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing a copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.
Synopsis: It’s the eve of 1953, and Aloysius Archer is in Los Angeles to ring in the New Year with an old friend, aspiring actress Liberty Callahan, when their evening is interrupted by an acquaintance of Callahan’s: Eleanor Lamb, a screenwriter in dire straits. After a series of increasingly chilling events—mysterious phone calls, the same blue car loitering outside her house, and a bloody knife left in her sink—Eleanor fears that her life is in danger, and she wants to hire Archer to look into the matter. Archer suspects that Eleanor knows more than she’s saying, but before he can officially take on her case, a dead body turns up inside of Eleanor’s home . . . and Eleanor herself disappears. Missing client or not, Archer is dead set on finding both the murderer and Eleanor.
My Thoughts: The chapters are short making for a fast paced book. The POV is from Archer. The author did a fantastic job of describing Hollywood in the 1950s, made me feel like I was right there with Archer. This is part of the Archer series and Baldacci has done an amazing job of creating this character and you can pick up any book in the series to read as a stand alone and be able to follow the character with no issues, the characters were well-thought out and planned very well. The author is able to keep the plot running throughout the story, keeping you engaged and page turning. I enjoyed reading this book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Thriller / Crime Fiction
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 4/19/22
Author: David Baldacci
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Pages: 432
Goodreads Rating: 4.23
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing a copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.
Synopsis: It’s the eve of 1953, and Aloysius Archer is in Los Angeles to ring in the New Year with an old friend, aspiring actress Liberty Callahan, when their evening is interrupted by an acquaintance of Callahan’s: Eleanor Lamb, a screenwriter in dire straits. After a series of increasingly chilling events—mysterious phone calls, the same blue car loitering outside her house, and a bloody knife left in her sink—Eleanor fears that her life is in danger, and she wants to hire Archer to look into the matter. Archer suspects that Eleanor knows more than she’s saying, but before he can officially take on her case, a dead body turns up inside of Eleanor’s home . . . and Eleanor herself disappears. Missing client or not, Archer is dead set on finding both the murderer and Eleanor.
My Thoughts: The chapters are short making for a fast paced book. The POV is from Archer. The author did a fantastic job of describing Hollywood in the 1950s, made me feel like I was right there with Archer. This is part of the Archer series and Baldacci has done an amazing job of creating this character and you can pick up any book in the series to read as a stand alone and be able to follow the character with no issues, the characters were well-thought out and planned very well. The author is able to keep the plot running throughout the story, keeping you engaged and page turning. I enjoyed reading this book.