Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles (A Babs Norman Hollywood Mystery, #1)

by Elizabeth Crowens

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles is an engaging light historical Hollywood PI mystery featuring a female in the lead role written by Elizabeth Crowens. Released 24th March 2024 by Level Best, it's 266 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. 

This is a fun light cozy investigation set in 1940s Hollywood. It's full of dognapping, skullduggery, studio politics, and lots and lots of name-dropping 1940s cinema icons. The writing is competent, and the author does a good job with the characters and settings. The dialogue sometimes falls a bit short, with a little too much witty repartee, but it's not egregious, and it doesn't yank the reader out of their suspension of disbelief. 

The mystery plot is well engineered and the action driven plot moves along to a satisfying denouement and resolution. It's supposed to the first book in a series featuring the same protagonist, updated publishing info hasn't been released yet.

Three and a half stars. Light, easy to follow, and enjoyable. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.