“Murder of a Movie Star” - L. B. Hathaway

 (Posie Parker book 5)

🎬 Another fun, cozy mystery in this series. It’s definitely light reading, but Hathaway fills it with interesting historical details - in this case, the British film industry grappling with stiff Hollywood competition. I’ve been enjoying this series in audiobook form - Clare Wille is an excellent narrator. I think it’s another win in the cozy mystery genre - not overly complex, but satisfying nonetheless.

🎬 In MMS, a starlet with plenty of her own secrets has received three death threats. They are very specific and one includes a gruesome post script. Her director, who doesn’t seem to believe the threats are anything more than a hoax designed to delay his production, has hired Posie to discreetly put things right. It will be an uphill battle for Posie to succeed give the amount of subterfuge she encounters among all of the principal players of Sunstar Studios.

🎬 I disliked Posie’s wheedling conversation with her attorney pal where she clumsily tried to extract confidential information from him. She actually utters the phrase “pretty please” - definitely poor form for our independent detective.

🎬 Although it doesn’t tie in at all as a plot point, so I can only assume Hathaway was merely illustrating attitudes of the 1920s, but there are many mentions of a pregnant character smoking and drinking. Obviously, the connection between these vices and maternal/fetal health was unknown at the time, so perhaps she was just adding a dose of realism to the narrative? 

🎬 I was surprised at Posie’s anger towards Lem for being out of office on her unannounced return to the Grape Street Bureau. In prior books, their working relationship was fairly independent. I was unsure why Posie was suddenly resentful of his absence. My only thought was that her misguided fury and unreasonable expectations were a result of her lingering feelings for him. It’s not explored, but it seems the most plausible explanation.