Salma Lowe comes from famous parents, Hollywood royalty, who remain icons of a golden age of film. When Salma was fifteen, her beloved older sister Tawney was murdered by the pool at her Hollywood home, the Jacaranda House. That sent the devastated Salma off the rails on years of hard-partying, drinking and addiction. Now, after completing her twelve steps, Salma works as a Hollywood tour guide for Stars Six Feet Under, showing tourists where Hollywood actresses met their untimely ends. Salma is leading a tour when she takes the group to Jacaranda House and finds a dead young woman in exactly the same circumstances as her deceased sister. Not only that, but the young woman is an actress who is made up to look exactly like Tawney. Police decide it is an unfortunate accident but this does not satisfy Salma, who decides to pursue her own investigation. The investigation leads Salma on a harrowing journey back into her past, cracking open hidden secrets and making her question everything she ever believed about her family and her life.

Whew! You had better brace yourself for this twisty and seductive journey into the golden glow and murky shadows that surround Hollywood. Reading the novel from Salma’s perspective, growing up too fast in the shadow of the Hollywood sign, I was reminded of Drew Barrymore’s story. It is a case of too much, too soon, with too little actual childhood and parenting. The blurring of Hollywood fantasy and reality, aided by drink and drugs, adds to the sense of confusion experienced by Salma. How much is real and how much is paranoia or substance-fueled hallucination? The reader witnesses Salma’s struggle to come to terms with her loss and see the uncomfortable truths about the people closest to her. I thought I knew who did it but I was wrong! This is compulsive, addictive reading. Another great author added to my thriller list.