SYNOPSIS

Two weddings with feasting and kissing. Frisky cats and their angry hissing. And murder.

Hollywood, 1957. The gofer for a television series doesn’t earn all that much, so when one of Gillian Raye’s friends asks for help serving at a local retirement party, she agrees. Rumor has it that Gillian and Minnie Mae have a talent for stumbling into crimes, but that’s silly. Or is it? To their dismay, the luncheon’s guest of honor never finishes the meal and ends up face down in the leftover layer cake. Here’s the thing. A girl must step in at times and help people she cares about. When the surprise demise at the lunch threatens to ruin Minnie Mae’s food services business, how can Gillian stand by and let that happen? And when a murder occurs during a rehearsal of the new spy series, and the handsome homicide detective is stumped, he tracks her down to ask for help. Can Gillian ferret out essential clues to the killers’ identities before one of them takes aim at the amateur sleuth?

Arsenic and Old Lovers, book one in Candy Baxter’s cozy Trouble in Tinseltown Mystery Series, is a delightful, lighthearted romp through Hollywood of the late 1950s. Fans of T.E. Kinsey’s Lady Hardcastle and Florence characters, or “The Cats That…” series by Karen Anne Golden, will enjoy following the adventures of Gillian and friends (with the help of Trixie the cat) behind the scenes in Tinseltown. For a fun read filled with kisses, hisses, and a lovesick macaw named Izzy (awk!), get your copy of Arsenic and Old Lovers. Previously published as Films, Foodies and Fatalities.

REVIEW

There are plenty of characters to keep the story interesting, but there are a few historical inaccuracies that are hard to ignore. Other things in the story seem to be there merely to leave room for a sequel.

I received this book free from the author, publisher, or other source. My only obligation is to provide a fair and honest review.