Multigenerational Family Saga

In the Face of the Sun is a beautifully crafted novel that excels in character development and thematic depth. Bryce's ability to depict the struggles and resilience of her characters makes the story both relatable and inspiring. The novel's strengths lie in its rich historical context, emotional depth, and compelling narrative. However, some readers may find the dual timelines challenging to follow at times. Overall, it is a highly recommended read for those who appreciate historical fiction with strong, multifaceted characters and meaningful themes.

Denny S Bruce’s IN THE FACE OF THE SUN, is a historical fiction novel that deals with dual timelines in the past. It opens with Frankie in 1968 who has been pushed to the point of escaping her abusive marriage. The novel also flashbacks to 1928, where her estranged Aunt Daisy is the main character. Aunt Daisy, whom Frankie just met only weeks before, has promised to pick Frankie up and drive her to the bus depot so Frankie can return to her estranged mother in Los Angeles. When an incident occurs, Frankie realizes she has to rely on Daisy for that long road trip.

Daisy has a colorful life. As an employee of the first luxury hotel for the Black elite in Los Angelos in 1928, Daisy enjoys her job but has dreams to pursue her education and become a journalist. She is made an offer she can’t refuse, an opportunity to spy on hotel guest and report the juicy details back to the journalist for a black news publication. This helps with extra income to provide healthcare for her ailing mother. But Daisy has so much on her plate, works double shifts, tries to look after her younger sister Henrietta, who is Frankie’s mother, who resents Daisy’s interference in her life, snooping on the hotel guest and trying to balance a love interest.
During their trip to Los Angelos, where they pick up a young white man to accompany them despite the racial climate at that time. Frankie is fascinated with the eccentric chain smoking, unfiltered Daisy. They often times bump head and Daisy keeps Frankie on her toes with her antics. As they journey to their destination, Frank discovers secrets from the past that involved Daisy and Henrietta and the breakdown of their relationship as well as other secrets that affected Daisy’s life.

IN THE FACE OF THE SUN is the second book I’ve read by Bruce, and I can say I am a fan. Very interesting storyline that dealt with family, grief, love and heartache. I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend this book.

I won a Kindle awhile back and this was one of the books that was supposed to be loaded on it but the author never came through. However, NetGalley did!

This is mostly a dual time-line story, although the very beginning and the very end are modern day. It takes place in 1920's Los Angeles and 1960's Chicago. Daisy is a young chambermaid who is working at a brand new hotel that is owned, staffed and frequented by Black people. It's a fictionalized version of The Dunbar, a historical hotel in California where many famous Black people came and stayed there. While it's the story of the hotel, it's also the story of Daisy's family and her life. Something tragic happens in the 1920's part of the story, which changes Daisy's life forever. In the 1960's, she is determined to make it right. The 1960's part has Daisy swooping in to help her niece Frankie, who she has only known about for five minutes.

There is such hope in this story. Such pride. There's a lot to learn if you're not familiar with certain parts of our history. The biggest issue I had with the book, had nothing to do with the author or the book. It was the custom of the time that smoking tobacco and marijuana, as well as drinking was fine for pregnant women. It's amazing to see how far we've come in many ways.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are mine, and freely given. This is a new author to look out for!

This is a multi-generational story that brings to life two tumultuous times in American history, forty years apart: 1928 and 1968. However, at the core of the novel it is about two women who take a road trip out west for very different reasons: one to escape her present, the other to reckon with her past. A relevant story set in old Hollywood and 1960’s Chicago about racism, love, tragedy, and the stages of grief, forgiveness as well as the lasting impact of physical and emotional abuse in the African-American community.

1968-Frankie escapes her abusive husband in Chicago and heads to California with her aunt Daisy, the family renegade. They use the green book to find safe places to stay, and learn about each other on the way. Daisy has had a crazy life, and was very much a rebel in the black community in 1928, doing her own thing and going against convention. It follows two timelines, to show the Daisy in her younger days. It's a fun to read story, probably 3.5 stars for me. #inthefaceofthesun #dennysbrice #bookstagram #lovetoread #bookblog #bookreview #bookrecommendations #takeapagefrommybook #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram

Another eye opening and enjoyable historical story from this author. The book goes between two time periods, 1928, When Daisy (one of the main characters) is a young woman working at a hotel for Negros and her interaction with several famous ones during that time period and 1968, when Daisy and her niece end up traveling together to go back to their hometown.

Although this is only her second book, I have yet to be disappointed in her stories. She pens such a compelling tale that is interesting and allows you to not only be entertained, but allows you to learn something. I enjoyed the surprises, the pace and the flow of the story, and I excited for whatever comes from her next.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author. I really do enjoy historical fiction and the things you can learn about different places and times in history. There were some sections of the book that went slowly, but overall I enjoyed this story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

Denny S. Bryce’s In the Face of the Sun continues her exploration of Black history of the 1920s in her second can’t-stop-reading-it novel.

1928—Los Angeles. The elegant Hotel Somerville, where L.A.’s African American rich and famous gather to be seen. Black Hollywood. Brown Broadway. The NAACP. W. E. B. Du Bois. Movie stars.

1968—Chicago. A city that’s ripe for explosion. The Civil Rights Movement. The Democratic National Convention. A crumbling marriage.

Daisy Washington, a maid at the Somerville Hotel, has specific goals. She needs to make enough money to provide her ailing mother the care she needs. Daisy also wants to resume her college studies and become a journalist. To augment her hotel pay, Daisy secretly feeds a newspaper acquaintance hot gossip items and scandals about those who live and play at the Somerville. Meanwhile, her younger sister, Henrietta, dreams of being a part of Black Hollywood and the Brown Broadway scenes of L.A. As Daisy learns, L.A. is a harsh town for people of color, and she quickly gets an education about racism, betrayal, money, and activism. And murder.

Frankie Saunders, a kindergarten teacher at a school in Hyde Park, needs to leave her abusive husband behind in Chicago and flee to her mother Henrietta’s home in L.A. What starts as a lift to the Greyhound station turns into the ride of Frankie’s life when she hooks up with her Aunt Daisy, who’s battling her own demons and determined to settle forty-year-old scores.

Just as Bryce focused on the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago during the Jazz Age in her marvelous debut novel, Wild Women and the Blues (2021), she has turned to another fascinating setting in Black history for In the Face of the Sun. Daisy’s story is the more interesting of the two narratives, and that easily is attributed to the dichotomy of the expensive suits and the sparkly gowns of the rich and famous Black community and the aprons and uniforms of the Black maids who cater to their wishes at the hotel.

That is not to suggest Frankie’s desperation to extract herself from an abusive marriage isn’t important. Frankie is a principled young Black woman who dresses plainly and wears her hair in a Jackie O flip despite her cousin Tamika urging her to go natural. Frankie is as pragmatic as her Aunt Daisy is flamboyant, and the contrast between them lifts the story as they travel and bicker across the country. All the while, both women contemplate the wrongs they've suffered and seek a way to heal and forgive.

Denny S. Bryce’s novels don’t merely expose histories from the Black American experience. They elevate and celebrate those histories. She writes with excitement and love for her characters and their settings, and both of those elements are unforgettable.

In this fast-paced dual timeline novel we follow Frankie Saunders in 1968 Chicago, fleeing across country to escape an abusive marriage, aided by her aunt Daisy whose story in 1928 Los Angeles forms the contrasting backdrop to the current narrative. The story of women looking to start over against tremendous odds isn’t a new one but in Bryce’s hands it comes alive, as she blends in the rich history of both 1920’s Hollywood scandals and forty years later, the upheaval of the 1960’s civil rights movement. The story of these two women, struggling against odds to rebuild their lives, framed by the ever-present racism that’s a part of their everyday existence, is well-written and engaging. An intriguing historical women’s fiction from an author we’re sure to hear more from.

Denny S. Bryce is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. I was captivates by her debut Wild Women and the Blues and now In The Face Of The Sun. Both stories are multigenerational tales involving African American families. In The Face Of The Sun follows Francine (Frankie) as she travels from Chicago to Los Angeles with her estranged Aunt Daisy. At the same time, there is a reflection on the events that occurred in 1928 Los Angeles. As the story progresses, it becomes very obvious that the events of 1928 are directly connected with the current events of 1968.

Frankie only met her Aunt Daisy within the past couple of weeks upon chance. Their paths had never previously crossed as a Daisy has been estranged from Frankie's mother due to a tragedy that occurred in 1928. Frankie is using Daisy as a method of transportation from Chicago where she is attempting to escape her abusive husband. At first, the two women are only tolerating each other but as more time passes they find themselves becoming closer. Honestly, they still drive each other crazy and Daisy's friend Tobey only adds to the tension.

I found both time periods with this historical fiction to be well researched. It felt like I was right there with these characters. 1928 and 1968 were both important eras in African American history and I loved the way it was presented. The story goes back and forth until you find out just how interconnected all of these events are. There are several significant American history events such as prohibition, Hotel Somerville, Black only clubs hotels/clubs/stores, assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Black only newspapers, and Black Hollywood all of which play an important role in the progression of the story.

The way the story was written allows the reader to make the connection with the past and present. There are so many parallels. It made me excited whenever I was able to make the connection and see how it may possibly help move the storyline forward. The characters feel so realistic and are wonderful examples of characters that are not always as they appear. Individuals can be complicated and their histories play a role in how they act and are perceived. All of these characters are so multilayered and each have dreams, thoughts about love and relationships, and regrets. It is all written so well.

In The Face Of The Sun does have a bit of an abrupt ending which left me reeling. Things were semi wrapped up in an epilogue but I still wanted just a touch more. All of it was so captivating, I wasn't necessarily disappointed but instead it was hard to let go of this story I had gotten so attached to.

I picked this up in audio after publication. I was really rooting for Frankie and hoped she made it to LA and away from her husband. This element of the story was far more interesting than the other, interloped story involving Daisy and the white man she's running across the country with. I see what Bryce wanted to do with this novel. I typically love a dual time period novel. This one just didn't flow well for me. The jump back and forth wasn't smooth. I felt the execution was OK.

"In the Face of the Sun" is a portrait of several generations of a Los Angeles family, initially living in a Sears Roebuck home, built from a kit, living a fairly middle class/working class life. In 1928, Daisy and Henrietta still live at home with their parents, but their mother is seriously ill. She suffered a heart attack and stroke in the aftermath of a dam collapse that killed her brothers. Daisy and Henrietta's father is a chauffeur by trade, working for the actor Alfred Lunt at the moment. Daisy left college when her mother became ill. She's the older daughter. Henrietta is around 16. The "girls" are working in the luxurious Sommerville Hotel. The hotel is just about to celebrate its grand opening as the first high end hotel built and owned by a well off couple and serving a Black clientele. The NAACP is holding its convention at the hotel shortly after it opens with W.E.B. DuBois as the keynote and a host of high profile men and women from the civil rights movement and from the entertainment industry. As hotel staff, Daisy and Henrietta are in their orbit if not at the elevated levels of these powerful guests.

There really was a Hotel Sommerville, later the Dunbar Hotel, in L.A.. Bryce does a nice job creating the setting, the city in this time and what was happening in the upper class Black community and with the staff members who served them. It is the jazz age, and the nightlife and music of this period, still part of the prohibition era, are deftly woven in. Bryce also does a fabulous job focusing on the Black publications of the era, with a character who is a columnist for the California Eagle. (An aside: you can read the California Eagle on Newspapers.com where it is archived. It served as one source for this novel).

Although the novel opens and closes in 1990, the story alternates between this era in 1928, when Daisy and Henrietta are on the brink of adulthood, and 1968 when Henrietta's daughter Frankie looks up her Aunt Daisy in Chicago. They never met and Frankie needs help to leave her abusive husband. Her relationship with her mother is strained at best. Frankie knows Daisy and Henrietta have not talked since 1928, but not why. Frankie runs hot and cold about her Aunt Daisy, who pursued her interest in writing/journalism over the years and has become a chain smoking character. Daisy agrees to take Frankie to the bus station. It is that point in 1968 when anti-war sentiment is strong, but Frankie's father died in Korea and she considers service a patriotic duty. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed only a few months earlier and Robert F. Kennedy's death is on the horizon. Aretha is on the radio. Frankie is starting off on a difficult physical and personal journey. She's tried to leave her husband before and keeps returning to him. Meanwhile, we learn Daisy is driving to L.A., for unclear reasons. She drops Frankie off at the bus station, heading off to start her own trip to the same destination. And that's fine with Frankie.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the two eras and the ways Bryce brings elements of then current attitudes on race/civil rights, music, class, domestic violence, the Black press and the many lines still firmly drawn between races, classes, men and women. Yet, in both eras, there are inroads and determined activists as well as folks just living their lives in their Sears homes and their Hollywood mansions. The story did drag a little for me here and there, yet I ended up being happy for every detail included in the whole. I eventually was riveted. "In the Face of the Sun" is a lovely, loving piece, well researched, with compelling characters, drama, happiness... life.

In late May 1968, when Francine “Frankie” Saunders climbs into her Aunt Daisy’s gorgeous new Ford Mustang, her aim is to flee Chicago and her abusive husband. She fears for her safety and that of the unborn child he doesn’t know about. Frankie barely knows Daisy, an irreverent, weed-smoking woman of nearly sixty who’s been estranged from Daisy’s mother for forty years, but she desperately needs Daisy’s help. On the wild road trip these two Black women take to Los Angeles, across two thousand miles with many bumps and detours, Frankie hopes to learn what caused the argument between Daisy and her mother. Daisy has another motive in mind for the journey’s end: revenge against someone from her past.

These two characters and their world jump off the page in radiant detail: their contrasting personalities, their distinctive looks (Daisy resembles a film star with her cat-eyed sunglasses, gingham dress, and perfect makeup), and their approaches to navigating America just two months after Martin Luther King’s assassination. A second narrative, set in 1928, follows twenty-year-old Daisy Washington as she works as a chambermaid for LA’s Hotel Somerville, a prestigious facility catering to the Black elite. After her mother suffers a mental and physical breakdown, Daisy, a would-be journalist, aims to keep her younger sister, Henrietta, out of trouble while collecting celebrity gossip for a friend’s newspaper column. Both threads of this propulsive story ultimately lead to the same destination: the revelation of the terrible event that divided the Washington sisters.

In her second novel, Bryce shines light on notable people and events from American history, from civil rights activists Drs. Vada and John Somerville and the actor Stepin Fetchit to the painful wounds of Tulsa. The scenes are cinematically vivid, the language fresh and vibrant, the characters complicated and real.

(from the Historical Novels Review, May 2022)

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington for access to this arc.

Last year I read “Wild Women and the Blues” and liked it but still had some issues with it. The blurb for “In the Face of the Sun” let me know it is another dual-timeline book (something I sometimes struggle with) but it sounded so interesting that I knew I wanted to read it. This is a book in which the characters come alive. It’s the plot that sometimes misses.

Split between alternating chapters of 1928 Los Angeles and a 1968 road trip between Chicago and California, the story took me back in time to speakeasies, Civil Rights movements, Vietnam, Black Hollywood, and Brown Broadway. But be warned that there is also racism, domestic violence, police brutality, and drug usage.

1968: Frankie has finally had enough abuse from her husband. She could tolerate him slapping and beating her but now that she’s pregnant, she knows she has to get out and this time actually stay out instead of returning to Jackson like she’s done before. Her notorious Aunt Daisy, whom Frankie just met only weeks ago, has promised to pick Frankie up and drive her to the bus depot so Frankie can return to her estranged mother in Los Angeles but things don’t go as planned and soon Frankie finds herself on the road with chain smoking Daisy and a white man. In 1968, that combo could land them in a lot of trouble.

1928: Daisy had to drop out of college when the news of her Uncles’ deaths in a dam collapse causes Daisy’s mother to have a heart attack as well as sends her back into depression that has haunted her before. Daisy has secured jobs for herself and her younger sister at the only Black owned, financed, and staffed luxury hotel in Los Angeles. Daisy hopes to earn enough to get better treatment for her mother and to further that, she keeps an ear open for any gossip she can pass on, for a price, to a journalist friend.

As both stories progress, past issues and secrets will be revealed against the backdrop of upheaval as Blacks first work for and then fight for Civil Rights and fair treatment in a world determined to keep them in their place.

In 1928 steely Daisy is determined to achieve her dream of being a journalist as well as care for her beloved mother. There is a truly horrific tragedy in her past even before the recent loss of more family members. She stays within the lines and tries to work within the system to get her slice of the American dream that seems to finally be more within reach of Blacks. Daisy has five irons in the fire at all times, works double shifts, tries to look after her younger sister – even if Henrietta resents Daisy’s interference, and refuses to consider the fact that the tips and information she listens for and then passes on could harm anyone.

Frankie is angry at her Aunt Daisy for showing up and making a scene as Frankie is trying to sneak away from her abusive husband. No one is going to miss the red Mustang or vibrant Daisy and when Jackson does appear in the scene, Frankie is grateful that no one but she – and Jackson – sees the switchblade Daisy pulls on him. Conservative Frankie has done what women are supposed to do in getting married and staying with a man even though he uses her as a punching bag. But Daisy will have none of that and it astonishes Frankie as well as angers her in how dismissive Daisy can be of conventions and social situations. While Daisy still uses the Green Book to find locations where Blacks can safely buy gasoline, use the bathrooms, or sleep for the night she has no problems with bringing along Tobey, a young white man she knows, – something which at first terrifies and infuriates Frankie. A white man in the car with two Black women in 1968? Yeah, nothing can go wrong with that.

As with “Wild Women,” I learned a lot about the vibrant Black community of the 1920s – this time in Los Angeles instead of Chicago. Little bits of historical details are baked into the narrative. This time though, the alternate timeline is not the current day but the tumultuous era of the late 1960s. Over the course of both timelines, I watched first Daisy and then Frankie change. In a lot of ways, Frankie is like Daisy initially was before The Event that changes Daisy and starts her on the road to the person she has become forty years later in 1968. By the end of the book, Frankie has let loose a bit and decided to not take any shit from the man who vowed to love her but who also hits her and orders her around.

I liked both the timelines fairly equally in this book which is something I had problems with in the first one. Each one engaged me and I eagerly kept reading and didn’t mind so much switching back and forth. If I had to choose, I’d pick the 1968 one as the other one had a slightly slower pace. And yet part of me wanted to read those missing 40 years of Daisy standing up and taking no fucks from anyone anymore. As she and Tobey talk during the road trip, they glancingly mention events and memories that they share that sounded fascinating but which are never explored in any depth.

Things were going well until unfortunately the plot starts fraying at the end. Events that occurred 40 years ago are the driving factor for Daisy wanting to make the road journey that she does. There is Something that finally propels her to do this but given how fiery and intense she was about it now, I wanted to know why she hadn’t followed up on the earlier things before this. Apparently she hasn’t spoken to several people from her past since 1928. It’s mentioned for two people that Daisy didn’t know where they were until shortly before the trip started but she did know where one person was and that person also knew some key information that could have cleared up the reason for their 40 year grudge. Finally there is last time jump to 1990 when we see two characters reconciled after what is clearly a Big Mis had separated them but again, no part of the reconciliation is shown or mentioned. Based on the severity of the misunderstanding, I needed a bit of closure for it.

The book is filled with complex people who are flawed. The eras are well drawn and in both I wanted to know what was going to happen next. If not for the slightly dragging pace of one and the somewhat random way some threads were tied up in the other, my grade would be higher. B-

4.5/5 - I love historical fiction that are about things I’ve never heard of and as I read more BIOPIC authors there is a lot to uncover. While there is a mystery to be solved, In the Face of the Sun is about family, love, hope and loss. It is about finding your way when you think everything is all lost and it coming from the least expected of places.

I enjoy Denny Bryce’s style of writing. In the Face of the Sun is a character driven historical fiction that
has a little bit of everything including mystery, murder, and family drama. Told in alternating narratives, the plot really pulls you in. A good read and I’d definitely like to read more by this author.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

3.5 stars. Told in alternating timelines 40 years apart, we meet Frankie in 1968, trying to leave her abusive husband. Her Aunt Daisy will be taking her to the bus station. But it ends up being a cross-country road trip where we learn Daisy's story from 1928.
I didn't enjoy this as much as Wild Women and The Blues. I think too much time was spent in the car. And even picking up Tobey, a white hippie draft-dodger that Daisy helped raise, was a little much. His storyline just didn't gel with Frankie's or Daisy's. And even finally figuring out the mystery of who killed Veronica Fontaine back in 1928 was a bit of a letdown and the entire reason Daisy decided to go back to LA after 40 years; to seek revenge on the "murderer" and make amends to the accused murderer. Daisy seemed to come unhinged rather unexpectedly. No real build-up, just "that escalated quickly" kind of behavior.
I did, however, enjoy this book and the story moves along at a good clip.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Press for an e-arc of this novel.*

This is one of the best historical fiction novels I've read. Denny S. Bryce takes us from 1928 Hollywood to 1968 Chicago, and the epic road trip that Daisy and Frankie share. This is both family and real world events. We have the compelling and vibrant Daisy, and her niece, Frankie, who is trying to figure out herself, her life, her path.. Along for the road trip is Tobey, a white man who is loyal to Daisy and there to try to keep her alive? Safe? All of the above?

At the heart of the story is family, and choices, and experiences, and how one is shaped by them. Daisy begins as the one trying to follow the rules and be a caretaker of her family in 1928 to the glamorous rule breaking 1968 aunt and you can see how she got there without needing to follow the forty years in between. Frankie's life has been impacted by the events of 1928, though she doesn't even know it. And now in 1968, she has her own decisions to make and a path to fight for. Both are impacted by relationships with their parents, war, racism and discrimination, the expectations their families had for them, and the wider role for women in the world, especially black women. We see all of it, and it makes both characters and their worlds, come fully alive.

In the larger world, through Daisy and her family, we see Hollywood's treatment of Black actors, artists, and professionals in 1928. There are places they can't enter, nightclubs that are only open so long as the police allow them to be open, professionals who cannot do the work they are qualified for, heath care that is not available to Black individuals. One can't help but see what still has not changed. Then in 1968, just after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and before the assassination of Senator Bobby Kennedy, Frankie comes into the picture and unexpectedly she relies on her Aunt Daisy to escape her life and head to Los Angeles. So much is the same, so many limitations on these Black women - which hotels they can stay at, which gas station will be open and have a bathroom they can use, how they are treated in a healthcare setting. It's important information, the real difficulties they face, the racism that doesn't change in forty years. It's a real, eyes wide open look at the world. I hope readers recognize the barriers and discrimination that still exist today.

I appreciated that the resolution between Daisy and her family was not over the top and drawn out. Instead they do what you want people to do - when it gets hard, you talk, you lean on each other, you list, you learn, you figure it out. It all felt very real. There is real heartbreak in this story, and that hurts people. It hurts relationships and that takes time. Sometimes relationships don't recover from it, and sometimes they do. I really liked that approach here, it felt warm and real and honest.

The story does jump between the two time frames, typically chapter by chapter (sometimes two chapters). Each time frame is noted so that one doesn't become confused, but there were a couple of places where I had to reset my thinking. This wasn't an issue, it was simply because Daisy is so strong in both time frames. Often a historical fiction with two time frames, focuses on different characters completely in each time. With Daisy present in both time frames, it takes a little more care as a reader.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I hope fans of historical fiction will take a look. This should be a great option for historical fiction readers who are looking for something outside of World War II and Europe. Black historical fiction fans and readers wanting to read more Black novels, should check this out.

CW for racism, police brutality, racially targeted violence, domestic abuse, pregnancy/childbirth loss, mentions of war time death in Korea (off page), mentions of Viet Nam service and conscientious objector status

"At the height of the Civil Rights Movement amidst an America convulsed by the 1960s, a pregnant young woman and her brash, profane aunt embark upon an audacious road trip from Chicago to Los Angeles to confront a decades-old mystery from 1920’s Black Hollywood in this haunting novel of historical fiction from the author of Wild Women and the Blues.

A lime-gold Ford Mustang is parked outside my building. Unmistakable. My Aunt Daisy, the driver, is an audacious woman that no one in our family actually speaks to. They only speak about her - and not glowingly. Still, she is part of my escape plan...

1928, Los Angeles: The newly-built Hotel Somerville is the hotspot for the city's glittering African-American elite. It embodies prosperity and dreams of equality for all - especially Daisy Washington. An up-and-coming journalist, Daisy anonymously chronicles fierce activism and behind-the-scenes Hollywood scandals in order to save her family from poverty. But power in the City of Angels is also fueled by racism, greed, and betrayal. And even the most determined young woman can play too many secrets too far...

1968, Chicago: For Frankie Saunders, fleeing across America is her only escape from an abusive husband. But her rescuer is her reckless, profane Aunt Daisy, still reeling from her own shattered past. Frankie doesn't want to know what her aunt is up to so long as Daisy can get her to LA—and safety. But Frankie finds there’s no hiding from long-held secrets—or her own surprising strength.

Daisy will do whatever it takes to settle old scores and resolve the past - no matter the damage. And Frankie will come up against hard choices in the face of unexpected passion. Both must come to grips with what they need, what they’ve left behind - and all that lies ahead..."

An old Hollywood mystery? Yes please!

I LOVED this book!! The writing was spectacular and I was so pulled into the story. I can't wait to read more from this author!