Mary-Beth Brophy

In Mayor of Hollywood by M.B. Brophy former childhood star and current history professor Lucy Cassidy helps her boyfriend Detective Mark Adamson solve a murder in Hollywood that has disturbing parallels to another murder that happened in Hollywood 75 years ago. At the same time it seems that some sick fan of Lucy's is terrorizing her and her safety is at risk.

This is a mystery that isn't a police procedural even though the police are involved in solving the murder mystery, let alone the harassment of Lucy by her stalker. Written in the first person this is Lucy's narrative of what is happening in the investigation, as well as in her personal life. While she assists Mark as a consultant to the case, it soon becomes clear that Lucy apparently has more connections to the case than simply the academic historical information that is her specialty. While the case unfolds, Lucy repeatedly is forced to confront uncomfortable memories from her past that seemingly have some bearing on the current murder investigation.

This is an easy summer read with a moderate buildup of tension/anticipation. Admittedly, I didn't particularly love the character of Lucy, but then I didn't actively dislike her either. The problems Lucy had with Marks Catholicism could have been left out - along with his explanation about why a devoted Catholic would be living with someone. It added nothing substantial to the story and was distracting (and I'm not Catholic). Also the number of times Lucy withheld information or felt faint/nauseous seemed a bit overwrought.

In the end, while I did have a couple issues with it, all in all it's a good murder mystery. If you enjoy mysteries set in Hollywood, than this could a great choice for you. Recommended


Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of the author via Netgalley for review purposes.… (mehr)

Mayor of Hollywood by M.B. Brophy


While I didn't think the title of this book had as much relevance to the story, as it suggests it does, I was immediately drawn in to the characters, particularly Lucy Cassidy. She is someone I hadn't encountered before in fiction or mysteries: someone who worked in the movie industry from ages 4-18, and then decided to forego her Hollywood career to pursue academia. She earned her doctorate degree in history. She had been nominated for a Golden Globe award, and she won an Emmy, so obviously she had talent in her field. Yet she preferred to be a history professor along with other random jobs that came her way. Her Hollywood career did give her some insight to life as it related to her currently being asked to help solve a murder.



Mark Adamson is Lucy's love interest. He's also on the LAPD, which is how Lucy becomes his "partner" for a murder investigation that closely resembles a cold case never solved from years ago. This combination of Hollywood tidbits here and there along with a police investigation that gets dangerous for Lucy, kept me unable to stop reading until the end.



I would recommend this book to mystery lovers who also like to pick up information on a subject about which little attention is given. It was as interesting to me to read Lacy's observations on Hollywood as it was to read her participation in the mystery. I will be watching for more from MB Murphy in the future


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