Book Review: A Child Kidnapping in 1920s Hollywood
SavingSusy Sweetchild,by Barbara Hambly (Severn House)
Barbara Hambly is one of my all-time favorite authors. Iwill follow her across genres, from science fiction to fantasy to historicalfiction to murder mysteries. And what better combination than a mystery set in1920s Hollywood, filled with glamour, Prohibition, drugs, silent film stars…andthe occasional crime? I fell in love with Hambly’s take on this era with hericonic Bride of the Rat God (not kidding!) and eagerly dived into hercurrent series of “Silver Screen Historical Mysteries.”
The protagonist is Emma Blackstone, widowed daughter of anEnglish don (professor, in this case of Antiquities—Emma regularly quotesAncient Greek and Latin), now earning her keep as companion and helper to herbeautiful silent-movie star sister-in-law, Kitty. Among Emma’s duties arecatering to Kitty’s three “celestial cream cakes,” aka Pekinese dogs, modeledafter Hambly’s own pups. In her spare time, Emma edits film scenarios forKitty’s producer, romances a cinematographer, and solves mysteries.
This third mystery in the series takes place in 1924, a timerampant with child kidnappings. Infant Blakely Coughlin (abducted in 1920),5-year-old Giuseppi Verotta (1921), 14-year-old Robert “Bobby” Franks (killedby Leopold and Loeb in 1924), Marion Parker (1927), Grace Budd (1928), and GillJamieson (1929) were among those never returned to their parents. In Hambly’smystery, the victim is Susy Sweetchild, an immensely talented child actor. Fromthe time Emma first sees Susy, she realizes the child is in danger, from thedrunken horse wrangler in the Western in which Susy stars to the mother who isonly interested in Susy’s earnings, the drunken/absent father (lots of boozeduring Prohibition) to the grasping aunt and grandfather to the producer whosimply doesn’t care so long as Susy’s films make money. So when Susy and hermother both disappear and the studio receives a ransom note ending “Do not callthe cops,” it’s up to Emma, her sweetheart, and the Pekinese to unravel themystery before it’s too late.
As with all Hambly’s work, Saving Susy Sweetchildbalances page-turner tension, wonderful characters (including the dogs!), twists-upon-plot-twists,and heart-stopping moments. From start to finish, it’s a treat.
I received a review copy of this book through NetGalley. The book will be released on September 3rd, 2024.
