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reading_and_wheeling's review
4.0
Blues in the Dark by Raymond Benson is more than just a mystery novel. It is also a tragic tale of romance and bigotry. There are two different story lines taking place in two different eras. First in present day Hollywood, film producer Karissa Glover meets a real estate agent who gives her a tip about a house that has just come up for rent. Karissa can't believe her good fortune when she tours the home that has been abandoned for decades and learns a little about its former owner, hollywood femme fatale Blair Kendrick, and how affordable the rent is. Upon further research, Karissa learns about Blair's untimely death and the circumstances surrounding it and the death of her lover, Hank Marley, and decides she wants to dig deeper into their story and make a film about the couple.
The second story line follows Blair Kendrick, new to 1940s Hollywood, as she begins to pursue her dreams as an actress. In only her second audition, she lands a role of a "bad girl" in a movie. While on the set she meets the band who plays a part in the film, and their leader, Hank Marley. Now, in the 1940s, it was against the studio's policy that Blair is under contract with for these two to date, as Hank is an African American and Blair is white. It was also against California, and many other states laws for interracial couples to be together, or married. We get to see their story unfold and learn what happened to both of the lovers. Speaking of the studio Blair works for, we also get a peek at the darker side of Hollywood and how much sexism and mysoginy there was. As studio head Eldon tries to get Blair to sleep with him as he does his other actresses.
The author does a wonderful job weaving the two time lines together and developing the main characters with a rich history. His descriptions of the jazz clubs and other places in old Hollywood are so rich you could smell the cigarette smoke and hear the jazz Hank and his band play. I did figure out part of the plot twist about halfway through, but it didn't stop me from flying through the pages to see how the author was going to bring it all together. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.
I want to thank Raymond Benson, Skyhorse Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a gifted copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
The second story line follows Blair Kendrick, new to 1940s Hollywood, as she begins to pursue her dreams as an actress. In only her second audition, she lands a role of a "bad girl" in a movie. While on the set she meets the band who plays a part in the film, and their leader, Hank Marley. Now, in the 1940s, it was against the studio's policy that Blair is under contract with for these two to date, as Hank is an African American and Blair is white. It was also against California, and many other states laws for interracial couples to be together, or married. We get to see their story unfold and learn what happened to both of the lovers. Speaking of the studio Blair works for, we also get a peek at the darker side of Hollywood and how much sexism and mysoginy there was. As studio head Eldon tries to get Blair to sleep with him as he does his other actresses.
The author does a wonderful job weaving the two time lines together and developing the main characters with a rich history. His descriptions of the jazz clubs and other places in old Hollywood are so rich you could smell the cigarette smoke and hear the jazz Hank and his band play. I did figure out part of the plot twist about halfway through, but it didn't stop me from flying through the pages to see how the author was going to bring it all together. I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.
I want to thank Raymond Benson, Skyhorse Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a gifted copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.
tonstantweader's review
2.0
Blues in the Dark begins when indie film producer Karissa Glover finds a rental offer she can’t refuse. It’s the mansion of the long-dead Blair Kendrick, still furnished, her clothes still in the closets, untouched since 1949, when she was murdered. And all for $1000 a month. An incredible deal and a built-in story, how can she resist? When she discovers that Blair, a white film star dated Hank Marley, a Black jazz musician, even before interracial marriages were legalized in California, the story strikes a chord with Karissa’s own history, a biracial woman who was adopted by a white family with no knowledge of her history.
As Karissa and her producer-partner Marcello research Blair and Hank’s story, someone is clearly trying to block them. They suspect it is Blair Kendrick’s former studio which was implicated in Blair’s death since the studio recalled all her films and won’t let them be shown. A business making a costly business decision is suspicious.
Although I thought Blues in the Dark has a great foundation for a story, I was disappointed in the writing. I didn’t find the seventy-year obsession with revenge that credible. Sure, the Hatfield and McCoy feud is legendary, but these were not Hatfields nor McCoys.
However, what was most difficult for me was the dialogue. Clearly, Benson did a lot of research on Black Hollywood and just could not bear to leave any of it out. There were a few conversations that felt like a Wikipedia download with different characters dropping nuggets off the notecards of research. Did you know Hatty McDaniel lived down the street? Research should form the context and atmosphere, not the dialogue. A paragraph of description would have given us an understanding of the neighborhood and its history without such an inauthentic conversation.
I thought the device of using a movie produced by Karissa to tell the story of Blair and Hank was ingenious, but I think Karissa and Marcello’s film was not well done. Flipping calendar pages, montages, and narration are such old-fashioned tropes to be used in a 21st-century film. Also, the contemporary film narrative used “Negro” rather than African-American or Black, striking a sour note. It’s one thing used in past events, but not in the narration.
Nonetheless, Karissa was a great character, with persistence, courage, and intelligence. She wanted information and she knew how to get, including going to the library and using microfiche. Nothing stopped her and she was thoughtful about her next steps in her investigation. Benson knows how to tell a story, I wanted to know what happened next and read the book through in two big bites. A disappointing book is not a bad book, it just is not as good as I thought it would be.
I received a copy of Blues in the Dark from the publisher through NetGalley.
Blues in the Dark at Skyhorse Publishing | Arcade Crimewise
Raymond Benson author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/9781948924917/
As Karissa and her producer-partner Marcello research Blair and Hank’s story, someone is clearly trying to block them. They suspect it is Blair Kendrick’s former studio which was implicated in Blair’s death since the studio recalled all her films and won’t let them be shown. A business making a costly business decision is suspicious.
Although I thought Blues in the Dark has a great foundation for a story, I was disappointed in the writing. I didn’t find the seventy-year obsession with revenge that credible. Sure, the Hatfield and McCoy feud is legendary, but these were not Hatfields nor McCoys.
However, what was most difficult for me was the dialogue. Clearly, Benson did a lot of research on Black Hollywood and just could not bear to leave any of it out. There were a few conversations that felt like a Wikipedia download with different characters dropping nuggets off the notecards of research. Did you know Hatty McDaniel lived down the street? Research should form the context and atmosphere, not the dialogue. A paragraph of description would have given us an understanding of the neighborhood and its history without such an inauthentic conversation.
I thought the device of using a movie produced by Karissa to tell the story of Blair and Hank was ingenious, but I think Karissa and Marcello’s film was not well done. Flipping calendar pages, montages, and narration are such old-fashioned tropes to be used in a 21st-century film. Also, the contemporary film narrative used “Negro” rather than African-American or Black, striking a sour note. It’s one thing used in past events, but not in the narration.
Nonetheless, Karissa was a great character, with persistence, courage, and intelligence. She wanted information and she knew how to get, including going to the library and using microfiche. Nothing stopped her and she was thoughtful about her next steps in her investigation. Benson knows how to tell a story, I wanted to know what happened next and read the book through in two big bites. A disappointing book is not a bad book, it just is not as good as I thought it would be.
I received a copy of Blues in the Dark from the publisher through NetGalley.
Blues in the Dark at Skyhorse Publishing | Arcade Crimewise
Raymond Benson author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2019/10/23/9781948924917/
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