This one was just ok to me. I didn’t love the story and the writing to me felt a little bit off. I just didn’t really vibe with the story or characters either.

It felt like it had been done before, and while I don’t mind reading similar books, the way this was written mad it feel very cliche and over the top.

Marjorie McCown’s Final Cut is a murder on the set mystery that offers an exciting look into the world of making movies. Her characters are nuanced and believable players surviving the make-believe world of filmmaking. The crisp dialogue might have been influenced by her career in costume design and listening to actors speak words from a page. The dialog sparkles with authenticity.

The plot has many good twists and turns that are as winding as the roads in Malibu Canyon. McCown creates a familiarity with the day to day work of costume and filmmaking. Technically, Final Cut is a tale of the corruptive struggle to find room at the top. It also boasts a fresh point of view and illustrates the pleasures and complexity of working in a closed creative community. The relationships between the experienced and inexperienced crew members reminds us of the importance of mentorship and camaraderie in building careers. Joey’s dedication to her profession is also a statement of focus, as it takes a village — aka a film crew-to get a story on the screen. This goes for all involved from actors to chefs to those who perform small miracles in the costume department. McCown reminds us that personal challenges can easily get in the way of necessary cooperation especially when there is a murder to be solved!

Just as Agatha Christie places us in a closed world full of surprises, McCown guides us through an unexplored Los Angeles with fresh revelations into character and place. Joey’s accidental match with bravery makes for an entertaining tale filled with plenty of filmmaking lore and intrigue. One can only hope for further adventures with the clever and dedicated Joey Jessop, film costume supervisor and sleuth extraordinaire.

I’m sure there is an audience for this book, but personally I found the prose often pulled me out of the action to describe the action to me, instead of letting me experience it. After a few chapters, I was not hooked at all.

I have no doubt this book will find an audience (movies! murder! sexual politics!) but having made it through a few pages, I determined this book was not for me.

i got to know that the author has a longtime experience in costume design which immediately explained why this book is so overtly filled with costume design-related elements to the point it becomes a distraction to the original story.

Free advance copy provided by NetGalley for review purposes!

This is a cozy-ish mystery (more cozy than thriller, that is) that takes place behind the scenes of a major Hollywood superhero movie. The main character is in the costume department- this is where the author really shines in the writing, since she worked in movie costuming for 20+ years. I’m sure she was accurate in her depiction of behind-the-scenes of movie making, but sometimes it felt like there was too much detail here. A lot of the details and descriptions and explanations could’ve been edited down quite a bit and it wouldn’t have detracted from the plot at all. The director of the movie is a real jerk who doesn’t respect women, the assistant director is the main character’s ex, and the murder victim is the AD/ex’s new girlfriend, so obviously our costumer becomes the prime suspect when she discovers the body. The mystery was kind of interesting, but seemed to get pushed aside a lot to talk about logistics and movie stuff. There was also a lot of what felt like name dropping of celebrities (presumably that the author has met) and a lot of things in the writing that made this book feel very of-the-moment, which might be a good thing initially upon release, but I don’t know if it would hold up if I came back and reread this after some time has passed. Overall, it was enjoyable enough but I don’t think I’d come back to another mystery by this author or if this were to continue as a series because it was less plot based and more overwritten about the experience of working in costuming on a movie set.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Crooked Lane Books and #NetGalley. Thank you to the publishers, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


An entertaining read set in a place full of intrigue and suspense.

The prose is so far removed from the characters I felt like I was reading a summary of this book, not an actual book. The premise is great though.