Agatha Christie meets Hollywood Squares
in journalist McNamara’s glitzy debut, a crime novel set in and around Los Angeles during the weeks leading up to the Academy Awards. Juliette Greyson, the director of public relations at the swanky Pinnacle Hotel, is preparing for another wild Oscar season (the month between the nominations announcement and the awards ceremony) when someone murders her ex-husband, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Josh Singer. With a reporter and a young starlet nominated for best actress already dead, Greyson and cancer-ridden megastar Michael O’Connor join forces to uncover the mastermind behind what the media is calling the “Oscar curse.” Featuring a plethora of self-absorbed actors, comedians, publicists and producers as possible suspects, McNamara’s self-assured, tabloid-fueled narrative—simultaneously sexy, scandalous and suspenseful—will appeal to fans of authors like Jackie Collins and Harold Robbins. McNamara insightfully portrays life on the other side of the velvet rope—and it’s far from glamorous. Gift bag with complimentary supply of Xanax not included. (Feb.)
