Tag: music

End of Story by A.J Finn

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A.J. Finn, the author of the New York Times bestseller The Woman in the Window waited six years to give us his second book, End of Story. No comparison can be made between the two. Finn seems to have entered a new realm of mystery thriller. With an undeniable, shocking twist at the end, the book itself is good, but in a curious way. It was a bit confusing, and although the ending was riveting, it took too long to get there. Now I am certainly not saying I disliked the story. It was genius. But perhaps because I enjoyed his first so much, my expectations were just too high.

Nicky Hunter has been the pen pal of Sebastian Trapp, an elderly famous mystery author who lives in seclusion for years. So, when she is invited to his mansion in San Fransico she certainly jumps at the chance. But unfortunately for her the reason for the visit to Trapp is that he has discovered he only has three months to live and wants someone to document the good, the bad and the hidden of his life.

What intrigues the general public and Nicky so much is the fact that twenty years ago on New Year’s Eve, both his wife and teenage son disappeared into thin air, never to be heard from since. The bigger mystery is they were at two different places when the disappearances took place. His wife disappeared from their New Year’s Eve party and his son, while having a sleep over at his cousin’s home.

Of course, gossip has swirled for years as to what happened to them. Did Trapp kill them? Are they buried on the estate? So, Trapp chose to ignore it all and live his life in seclusion with his new wife, Diana, his daughter Madeleine and his very troubled nephew Freddy and his mother.

As Trapp begins to tell Nicky about his life, he seems to not only leave out the important parts, but hint at clues she should try and guess at. She begins to search the house for answers and discovers the diary of Trapp’s missing son. What she learns is very unpleasant. Trapp was not a very nice man. But is he a killer? All this sends Nicky down a rabbit hole of trying to discover what happened.

Just when you think the tension in the house could not get worse, there is a body found in the Koi Pond after a celebratory party. Nicky and Madeleine decide to come together and figure out what is happening. Because you see, it looks to them both that Trapp’s son may have possibly returned. And is leaving clues. What does this all mean?

End of Story is an extremely imaginative who done it, with a slow build, but as I said, the ending is the masterpiece of the story.

Published by William Morrow.

A Murder in Hollywood by Casey Sherman

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True Crime investigator/writer Casey Sherman has written an awe-dropping account of movie star Lana Turner’s life and what led up to the death of her boyfriend, mobster Johnny Stompanato, as well as the effect it had on both her and her 15-year-old daughter Cheryl.

Sherman intricately delves into the history of both Lana Turner, her life prior to Stompanato’s death which occurred in her bedroom as he was allegedly beating her, which sadly was nothing unusual. When her daughter heard the commotion, she allegedly came into the room and stabbed Stompanato in the stomach. He also gives a history of the rise of the mob and how they were able to not only manipulate the Hollywood studios, but how they were able to manipulate her.

Ms. Turner’s life unfortunately was filled with trauma, abuse and abandonment from men in her life, including her own father. It covers how she became famous by infamously being “discovered” in a diner at a very young age.

Sherman also takes the reader into the lives of mobster Mickey Cohen as well as Johnny Stompanato and in great detail writes to what led up to the killing and the effects it had after the fact on Turner, her daughter and even Cohen.

Lana Turner’s life story is heartbreaking. Married many times, she seemed to always pick someone who would physically or mentally abuse her (or her young daughter) or steal her money. Because of her fame, she put her daughter on the backburner as she tried to live up to her bombshell image, which after a while began to fade. She then had to try and reinvent herself over and over again as new younger bombshells came on the scene.

Of course, the most riveting account was the story and facts of her relationship with Stompanato and how she was unable to get away from him and how he continually abused and threatened her. Sherman takes the reader step by step of not only their relationship but what is said to have occurred during the killing and smoothly moves into what happened next as well as the trial and Mickey Cohen’s hatred of Lana Turner after the death of his friend.

A Murder in Hollywood is a juicy can’t put down tell-all of a beloved, beautiful yet tortured movie star whose introduction to stardom was too fast and as she naively believed all the men who ran the studios had her well-being and would take care of her. Unfortunately, that would never happen, and her life was filled with abuses and overwhelming sadness. Yet, because of the actress she was no one would have ever guessed she lived her life practically walking on eggshells.

Thank you #NetGalley #Sourcebooks #CaseySherman #AMurderinHollywood for the advanced copy.