Saving Susy Sweetchild - (Silver Screen Historical Mystery) by Barbara Hambly

Book Synopsis

Welcome to Hollywood of the 1920s: a world filled with glamour, fake names . . . and the occasional felony!

July, 1924. After nine months of living in Hollywood and working as a companion to her beautiful silent-movie star sister-in-law, young British widow Emma Blackstone is settling into her new role: doctoring film scenarios whenever the regular scenarist is overwhelmed with work, which seems to be most of the time.

Shoots for the Western movie Our Tiny Miracle are in full swing, with little seven-year-old Susy Sweetchild playing the lead and acting most professionally. Maybe too professionally, Emma thinks, shocked to the core when the child star is nearly killed in a stunt scene and her mother - former screen siren Selina Sutton - seems only to care that Susy gets the job done.

But Emma's concerns only worsen when news reaches her that Susy and her mother have been kidnapped. The ransom note says to keep the cops out of it, so it's up to Emma and Kitty to find them before the unthinkable happens and Emma is forced to rewrite Our Tiny Miracle with a far more tragic ending . . .

New York Times bestselling author Barbara Hambly once again brings the glamour and intrigue of Hollywood to life! An unputdownable mystery for fans of female-fronted historical mysteries set in the roaring twenties.

Review Quotes

A fine entry in impressive series-- "Booklist on House of the Patriarch"

A wild lineup of possible killers mingles with historically accurate info in a fast-paced mystery-- "Kirkus Reviews on One Extra Corpse"

Emma feels fresh: not merely another flapper-era amateur sleuth, but rather a vibrant, intelligent woman with whom readers will enjoy spending time-- "Booklist on Scandal in Babylon"

Excellent . . . Everything feels just right: the characters are abundantly human, the mystery is beautifully constructed, and the Hollywood milieu is vividly realized-- "Booklist Starred Review of One Extra Corpse"

Exciting adventures and thorny mysteries gain gravitas from pointed social commentary-- "Kirkus Reviews"

Exhilarating, exasperating, and dangerous . . . A sparkling series launch featuring Hollywood hijinks and a clever sleuth-- "Kirkus Reviews on Scandal in Babylon"

Hambly's outstanding sequel to 2021's Scandal in Babylon showcases the author's wit and her compassion for the underdog-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review of One Extra Corpse"

Outstanding . . . Hambly's masterful historical detail, scrupulous character portrayal, and psychological analysis of human frailties contribute handsomely to her storytelling-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review of House of the Patriarch"

This splendid romp is sure to win Hambly new fans-- "Publishers Weekly Starred Review of Scandal in Babylon"

Vividly evoking the myriad intricacies of the silent-film industry and the shifting fortunes of its players, Hambly crafts a fast-paced mystery infused with Hollywood flapper flair-- "Booklist"