DNF

I was so disappointed - this book looked so good and had an awesome cover, but I was just bored. It couldn't hold my attention and I kept putting it down to go read something else. I'll give the author another chance, but this one wasn't great.

DNF at 50%

I didn’t really feel the characters in this one. It was just ok, but I really didn’t feel intrigued enough to finish it.

Book Review:
Title: The Hurricane Blonde
Author: Halley Sutton
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/3 stars

I know you can't judge a book by its cover, but c'mon, this one's a beaut! Summertime and sunshine, right? Eh, kinda. Admist the hills of Hollywood, there is a bus tour that takes visitors to all of the sites of the deceased actresses who met their tragic ends by murder. One of these locations is where tour guide, Salma Lowe's sister, Tawny, perished. Known as the Hurricane Blonde, Tawny was found strangled in her Jacaranda home. This case is now cold as her killer was never found.

Now, two decades later, Tawny's ex fiancé, Cal, has decided to develop this tragedy into film. Strangely, a young blonde has just moved into the Jacaranda home and soon found dead in an almost uncanny resemblance to Tawny. Salma decides to take part in the film for the sole intention of finding more information to prove who she suspects is the killer.
Will her sister finally receive the justice she deserves?

Published: August 8th, 2023

Thank you, @netgalley and @putnambooks, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

2 stars!

Being from California, I was very excited by the prospect of a thriller set in Hollywood. However, this story felt so slow. I kept falling asleep while reading it and when I would be like where did I last leave off I couldn't remember because nothing really stood out. Unfortunately, I did not feel like the book lived up to its premise as much as I wished it did!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

This book was a lot heavier than I expected and I loved it so much. The main character was complicated but I did love her despite herself. I couldn't put this one down and really enjoyed it!

This was not for me. The story was kinda slow and I couldn't connect with the characters at all. I was hoping for something different

I decided to abandon this book at 40%. The characters were so unlikable and I struggled to keep picking this one up. The plot didn’t interest me and so much of it seemed implausible. This book was not for me.

This book just wasn’t for me. I felt like the pacing was a little too slow and I never found myself eager to pick the book back up. It wasn’t the writing that I didn’t care for but the development of the story.

This book could’ve been about 100 or more pages shorter and would’ve been a better flow. Also, the twist was boring, and I’m tired of authors using the unreliable narrator trope because they have a substance use disorder. It’s a cheap cop-out, and it’s overplayed, be better.

The Hurricane Blonde is a pretty powerful book. I went into it thinking it would be a pretty solid thriller, with Salma continuing to figure out the mystery behind her older sister's death twenty years prior and another young actress whom she discovers dead in the same spot, at her sister's former home, during the present day.

While much of the book is devoted to Salma working to unravel the murder, the book also does a deep dive into the toxic masculinity in Hollywood and how women are treated. There are elements of the #MeToo movement in there, and talks a lot about alcohol abuse, stemming from trauma.

I honestly didn't expect this book to be as intense as it turned out to be. It's much more than a murder mystery, and in a way, a portrait of the dark side of Hollywood.

Thank you Putnam Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this novel sooo much more than I did! I could have been my own worst nightmare with starting and stopping so many times but I don’t know! This was more story telling than twisty novel. I couldn’t get into this. A twist happens at about 60% and I found myself not caring about it, so I stopped reading. This book got really great reviews so I think this was a me issue and nothing wrong with the book! Take my review with a grain of salt.

there's absolutely nothing like a california noir (shouts to double indemnity), especially one that dives into hollywood culture. following in a grand tradition of megan abbott and mulholland drive. really liked it

Following her debut noir The Lady Upstairs, Halley Sutton takes us once again into the underbelly of Hollywood. Told in one narrative voice like the noirs of the 40s, The Hurricane Blonde’s narrator Salma “Salmon” Lowe has sunk to new depths. The child of Hollywood royalty and once a promising child star, Salma has never gotten over the strangulation death of Tawney her famous sister known as “The Hurricane Blonde.” Salma, a recovering addict, leads tours for Stars Six Feet Under to where dead starlets met their end, including her sister.

Tawney’s death has never been solved and this haunts Salma. Plus, her sister’s fiancé, Cal Turner, a brilliant and dangerous director, is filming a movie about Tawney’s life and death. Salma suspects he killed Tawney and is upset that he has the audacity to make this movie. Salma forces her way onto the set with the motive of keeping the story true. Then, during one of the Stars Six Feet Under tours, she stops at the house where her sister died and discovers the body of a young woman floating in the pool, a young woman who looks very much like her sister. The young woman turns out to be the actress who was supposed to play Tawney in the movie.

This spurs Salma to investigate the past, and she unburies ugly family secrets, lies, and Hollywood’s ability to cover up whatever will hurt the money machine that eats up young starlets and their dreams.

This is not a new story. Both The Last Songbird and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo cover much the same territory. But Sutton’s story puts us in Salma’s shoes and we feel the trauma, frustration, and loss that comes from powerful men considered geniuses and, therefore, untouchable. For those who love Hollywood stories, The Hurricane Blonde will tick all the boxes, including famous L.A. locations like Chateau Marmont and the Cinedome Theater. Cal Turner, the enfant terrible director, will make your skin crawl, especially with how he shockingly abuses the woman playing Tawney in order to get what he considers the most effective portrayal of her death.

Sutton digs deep into the Hollywood story, planting The Hurricane Blonde firmly in noir, where the mystery is solved, but justice doesn’t prevail. A captivating and disturbing page-turner.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

First, how gorgeous is the cover of this? It's what initially caught my eye, since the author wasn't someone I'd heard of before. I loved the bright colors and was immediately drawn in, wanting to know more. I love stories that involve Hollywood or celebrities, especially when it's shown or told through a darker lens, like this one is here. This was super fast paced and kept me reading until I finished it in a single sitting, and I loved the way it kept me entertained throughout. Will definitely be looking out for more from Sutton in the future, this was so good!

“The Hurricane Blonde” started off very strong-2 dead bodies in the world of Hollywood. However, I found the story became rather convoluted with a lot of superfluous characters that I found difficult to keep up with and who offered little to the story. I could tell I wasn’t really feeling this one because I picked it up a few times to finish, which is rare for a mystery if I’m really into it. This one was not memorable despite the initial interesting backdrop. 3 stars ⭐️ rating for this one. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

This was such a great, suspenseful thriller! I couldn't put this book down and I would love to read more by this author. You'll never guess the twist at the end!

I tried to start this one but just couldn't get into it - it didn't really stick out to me and I didn't find myself wanting to pick it back up.

I enjoyed Hurricane Blonde. The family dynamics were pretty twisted. There were some surprises I didn't see coming and I guessed one twist incorrectly.
I received this galley from NetGalley.

Thanks, NetGalley and Putnam, for the Digital Review Copy.

Salma Lowe (how perfect is that name for a hot-mess express daughter of old Hollywood royalty?) is a failed actor who leads bus tours of tragic locations for “Stars Six Feet Under.” When she pulls up to her sister’s old house (the site of her murder in the mid-90s), she finds ANOTHER dead blonde starlet floating facedown in the pool. This re-ignites her obsession with finding (okay, proving) her sister’s killer because CLEARLY it’s the same person.

Salma’s character walks that delicate line. She’s unhinged, but still, you care about her. She makes hot-headed decisions, turns bad situations into worse ones, and generally behaves embarrassingly, but she is still redeemable. The mystery is good, the reveals surprising, and the storyline kept me guessing. But mostly, it was Salma who kept calling me back to the story, making it a compulsively entertaining read.

Thanks, @kellyhook.readsbooks, for putting this one on my radar. Old Hollywood-infused cold case stories aren’t my usual, but I’m glad you led me to it.