Well this was a DNF after 30%. It did not keep me interested enough to continue. I like a story to captivate me by 20% of the pages. This just wasn’t for me. I was honored to receive an early copy through NetGalley for an honest review, thank you.

such a great read! i love historical fiction and 1940s hollywood was such an interesting setting, i haven’t read a murder mystery with so much drama in a while and i enjoyed it so much, the characters were well developed and complex enough that i didn’t know if i should love them or hate them, i think the killer reveal was clever even if sometimes it felt like the plot was going in circles but the ending was good and there was more to learn about the mc than just her trying to solve a murder, overall i think it is a very entertaining book

Ever since watching The Orient Express, I have been loving murder mysteries. This was no exception. The glitz and glamour and Hollywood stars were so fun to read about.

Thank you #NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I very much enjoyed this book. I was a little unsure at first and thought that it would be just another boring historical mystery, but it had me tossing that notion aside from the very first chapter. I was NOT expecting this to be as queer as it was. There were many varied queer characters and relationships, and I could tell each was put in the story with purpose and not just for diversity wins. Sarah James’ characters could never be called boring or static, that’s for sure. Each one was full of both negative and positive traits, made sometimes terrible and selfish decisions, and were still loveable in their own way. I would say this is a found family story, and in a way it is, but it’s the most dysfunctional family group I’ve ever read about. They’re all assholes and the friendship shouldn’t work at all, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the dynamics all the same - much like the characters feel about each other.
The story was set within a background of WWII-era Hollywood, which really set a great stage (pun intended) for the mystery itself. I have to say I had no clue where it was going at any given point. I couldn’t have guessed who the killer was until Annie herself did. I liked that the reveal wasn’t the end of the story, either. Annie’s story deserved an ending (or really, a new beginning) that revolved around her, and I’m glad she got it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes complicated, strong-willed characters and a mystery that will keep them guessing.

Thank you to netgalley, Sarah James, and the publishers for this ARC.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen starts with Annie’s relationship ending and her play closing. When she gets a call from a minor studio to be a writer, she heads West (coincidentally where her exes are also living and working). She befriends a group of wannabe actors, composers and writers but when one of the group is found dead, will they all turn on each other to find the killer.

What I liked: The last half of the book, the pacing picked up and the murder investigation started - it just took awhile to get there.

The bits and pieces you get of the old Hollywood studio system - crafting a star’s image and minimizing anything that could be potentially offensive.

What didn’t work for me: The characters weren’t that likable, to the point I questioned why the main character wanted to be friends with them. I also felt like they blended together a bit.

The conclusion wrapped up fairly quickly and neatly. The bit of romance felt unnecessary.

Who should read it: You enjoy old Hollywood, slower paced books, and a murder mystery that isn’t gory.

Last Night At The Hollywood Canteen was exactly what I wanted it to be! It was the Hollywood murder mystery that I never knew I needed. Fun, glamourous, murderous and an in depth look into the lives of the rich and famous. I absolutely loved how the author used real people and places in the novel. It really set the scene to this historical mystery.

Thank you, Sarah James, Sourcebook Landmark and NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed the first part of this, reading on Old Hollywood. It was enthralling enough getting to know all these characters. But then the murder happened and everyone just got on my nerves and the story got too draggy. I DNF-ed then. I'm sorry it didn't work out for me. Judging from other reviews, others definitely enjoyed this more.

I love the cover of this book and I love the idea of this book!

But, with that said, this book fell flat for me. I found myself bored and skimming through lines and paragraphs. Perhaps it was the pacing or the characters.

I did not finish reading and I really don't like not finishing a book but I really struggled to become engaged with this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC, in exchange for my honest review.
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I liked the plot of this book, and the era, but unfortunately, it wasn't for me. I struggled to get through it, especially after the extensive list of characters was introduced,

I really liked the way this book began with a happy throuple of a playwright and two actors, because not many books aimed at mainstream readers have this kind of representation. But then it all went to hell and devolved into a mess of stock characters, red herrings the size of airplanes, and a dull ending. None of the characters have much depth, the story drags, and the ending feels completely untrue to the protagonist.

Great characters, entertaining dialogue and great plot development
Thank you to Sarah James, NetGalley and Sourcebooks landmark for the arc of this book

I loved this twisty tale of Hollywood in the golden age. The amount of detail James sprinkles throughout her chapters takes the reader right back to the time and place with ease. The characters all shine and are deliciously flawed. The plot twists and turns itself into a pretzel tighter than Veronica Lake's hair in a drill press.. I cannot express how much I enjoyed this novel. If you love The Thin Man, if you think Jack Benny was a genius, if you've ever lovingly flipped through an old issue of Modern Screen magazine, give this book a chance,

Dare I say, I loved this one. Loved! A whodunit set in Hollywood in the 40’s, the banter was witty, the characters were likable and the mystery was perfectly done.

As a fan of classic movies, this had the feel of one of those, just in book form. It felt cozy and the dialogue was well done for that time period. Can’t recommend this one enough!

I'm not always the biggest fan of historical fiction but let me tell you, Sarah James knocked it out of the park!

I love anything that has to do with the glitz and glamour of the classic, old Hollywood era. The cover is amazing. This book will take you back in time and take you to a whole new time.

The mystery itself was delightful and creative, but the real gem was the conversations, characters, banter, dark humor, and jokesThe perfect balance of humor and true emotion and dark, sadistic, and sarcastic humor and content. It was beyond exciting. The pacing was good. Not too slow or too fast I got lost.

This was a fast paced wise-cracking historical mystery set in World War II era Hollywood. Annie Laurence is a playwright who heads west after a New York City relationship goes bad. She is offered a screenwriting contract with a third-rate studio, and falls in with a crowd of movie types loosely based on the likes of Dorothy Parker, Anna May Wong, George Gershwin, and Judy Garland. A member of the “club” is murdered, and we’re off to the races.

This was mostly fun, with an intriguing mystery and some great one-liners. The story lagged toward the end, when the pill popping and historical accuracy both went a bit out of control, and I was left wondering what actually happened. But I had a good time and recommend it to all fans of 1940’s historical mysteries.

Such a great historical mystery set in the Golden days of Hollywood! I hope this continues on as a series! I highly enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who are looking for a different era to try out in historical mysteries!

Join the hollywood set in this queer noir romp which will keep you turning pages as you explore the twisting lives of actors, directors and musicians tied together by complicated histories and that last night at the Hollywood Canteen. This novel is an immersive experience with dynamite dialogue making wartime studio backlots come bursting to life in technicolour.
The cast of characters are all stars selfish stars walking the line between fame and infamy and it is a thrilling time walking the wire with them. Fresh, fun and delicious - just watch out for the coffee you'll be drinking because you can't sleep until you get to the end!

“Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen” is a mystery book by Sarah James.

What I liked about the book:

It really captured the feel of the Hollywood Canteen - meaning the canteen itself. There was some name dropping, but that’s to be expected because the canteen started out as a good effort and became, sadly, a place for stars to be seen - and for Hollywood to pat itself on the back for doing a job for the war effort. However, I honestly believe that Ms. Davis and Mr. Garfield didn’t plan for it to evolve that way when they came up with the idea.

The bitting and bitterness and wittiness of the Algonquin Round Table - portrayed in this book book as the Ambassador’s Club. I’ll never be a huge Dorothy Parker fan, but her one liners were cutting, bitter, and spot on … rather like those of Fiona Farris.

The cover of this book - it’s gorgeous and if I saw it at my library, I’d pick it up for the cover alone.

What was meh:

The pacing - yes, there needed to be build-up … and a fall down … and a savior, but the plot at times moved so slowly toward the direction of first the murder and then again solving said murder.

The Ambassador Group - while the wit was there, so often there was so much bitterness that I had to wonder “why do these people consider themselves friends? Why do they hang out with each other? Maybe they have a different definition of the word ‘friend’?”

Characters - While I had an easy time keeping the female characters, for the most part, separate - the two man men (Vic and Jack) I had problems keeping separate. While the two men did work together, I don’t think that was the only reason why. I wanted something more to the overall relationships in this book as even at the end, I still felt what I knew about each character was rather surface-level interesting. Also, while the main female character followed a couple out to California, I really felt like like the couple she followed could’ve been replaced by a single character. I didn’t care for the couple … separately or together.

The “who done it” - I wasn’t surprised by who was revealed to be the murderer, but I was disappointed because it seemed like such a sad reason to murder someone.

What was not so great:

I was hoping for vague “Thin Man” vibes. Instead I read a book where a woman after one week manages to get herself accepted by a group of friends who have been together for 20 years and they start spilling secrets to her like nobody’s business. That seemed a little bit too unreal for me. Also, this book became a bit too cookie cutter at times - focusing on little things that ended up being red herrings or on the shady side of Hollywood.

For me, this book is about a 3.5 read. I so wanted to enjoy it more than I did.

Who knew that Hollywood in 1943 was so scandalous? You couldn't be who you really wanted to be and fake marriages, morals clauses and homespun values dictated the entertainment industry. It was wartime and movie studios worked diligently to produce wholesome, family movies for the loved ones left behind. There was no room for a secret rendezvous between movie stars or drunken behavior in public.

Hollywood was the mecca for East Coast writers and entertainers and when Annie Laurence was offered a job as a screenwriter, she couldn’t pack her bags fast enough. Her best friends were there and under contract with a different studio and she hoped once they all reconnected, everything would go back to how it once was. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be so Annie made new friends who welcomed her into their secretive group. They dined, drank and danced the night away at clubs throughout Los Angeles, especially the Hollywood Canteen. It was there, late one night, that Annie witnessed a horrifying scene that would change her life forever. Annie, with her background writing murder mysteries, soon began to dig deep into the lives of all parties involved to determine who had the most to lose if their secrets were revealed. I loved following the relationships between Annie and her high society friends while they basked in the glamour of Hollywood. Ms. James certainly added enough twists and turns to her 1940’s murder mystery which kept me guessing until the shocking and surprising ending.