Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of Bela Lugosi's Dead by Robert Guffey in exchange for an honest review. It all starts with a hunt to find lost footage of Bela Lugosi for Mike. He meets Lucy and they end up on some strange adventures that leave the reader in a detective noir meets obscure scavenger hunt. This book was dark and interesting and left me wanting more.

"Bela Lugosi’s Dead is one-third detective story, one-third Hollywood ghost story, and one-third pulp adventure tale…."

I loved this description and am glad to say that this book delivers on this promise. The characters were great and I enjoyed going through this pulp adventure.

A fascinating read if you love old horror movies.
It's well researched and engrossing, I liked the plot and the character development.
I hope to read other book by this author, this one is recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is an unusual book in that it is really two stories one about a man who is writing a screenplay and becomes inspired by a woman he meets at the cemetery to find the lost Bella footage. Although she knows him not she reads his screenplay and works to help him get it finished and made into a movie. Along the way, he meets an incredible cast of characters including Bella Lugosi Jr. The other story is a gothic classic story that Bella would have been proud to star in.
There is some confusion with the shuffle between the stories but all in all it's a unique format and a good read.

A tragic love letter to the monsters, Bella Lugosi in particular, and late coming-of-age story with a twist. What starts as two separate narratives (a compelling story about a down on his luck would-be screen writer, and an epic "unmade" sequel to "House of Dracula" & "House of Frankenstein" that would swell the black heart of any monster kid) merges into one exhilarating and poignant tale about the borders between loves and obsessions. Clearly a lot of research went into this book, and classic film history and accurate tone and style adds incredible depth to the excellent characterization and plotting. Fascinating must-read for classic horror fans.

I picked up this book because I’m a big fan of classic horror films, and the blurb made it seem like it would be filled with interesting tidbits for film geeks along with an intriguing semi-mystery plot.

Well, the interesting film tidbits were there.

I get that the main character is intentionally unlikable and unreliable. I understand the reasons for it. That said, the plot and side characters did not pay off enough for me to feel like putting up with the main character was worth it. There are unlikable main characters in a lot of great literature, and you come out of the read feeling you’ve gained something from the experience.

I don’t think I’ve gained anything at all by spending a few hours with this character. Perhaps because I’ve seen so many of his kind before, and now I’m tired and bored of it: the narcissistic wannabe writer who mistreats his manic pixie dream girl and then has a downward spiral. There’s nothing new about this. The only real innovation is that the actual plot is spliced together with our wannabe writer protagonist’s bad movie crossover fanfiction, which at first I thought might lead us somewhere interesting, but frankly, the payoff just did not pay off.

The story doesn’t even try very hard to do anything with the character. Sure, at least the author clearly recognizes that he’s an asshole; the narration makes it clear that no one else is impressed when he pushes his girlfriend and blames his career failures on the women in his life (mom and girlfriends) being ‘unsupportive’ while they finance his deadbeat ass. But weirdly, everyone we meet who this guy shows his writing to agrees it’s strong work and has potential. Comparing his hastily written Bela Lugosi biopic to ‘Citizen Kane’ just because the storyline he comes up with on the fly is nonlinear was, I thought, meant to be played as a joke on the character’s ridiculous delusions of grandeur—but then other people read the screenplay and think it’s brilliant.

If you are a HUGE early Hollywood horror fan, you may be able to glean enough from the campy qualities of this book to amuse you. There’s a great side character who owns a bookshop just to house his collection of geeky film memorabilia, and that setting is a lot of fun to spend time in. But the main character and main plot were, in my opinion, uninteresting and vaguely distasteful.

I was hoping for some snarks and satire. Just because I wasn't into it doesn't mean that it isn't a good read. See for yourself!
I requested and received a free very temporary ebook copy from Crossroad Press/Macabre Ink via NetGalley.