Sarah James brings us a classic historical fiction murder mystery set in Hollywood during WWIi. A fun engaging read, full of wit, snarky asides (and characters too).

Annie Lawrence is a successful playwright in New York critiqued by the one and only Fiona Farris, whose life is upended when her lovers - actors - up their things and move for their career to Hollywood. After much wallowing , Annie wins a job script writing with Pacific Pictures and like others at the studio volunteers at the Hollywood Canteen.

This gives her the chance to finagle her way into friendship with Fiona Farris and her friends - the drunken and acerbic ambassadors club. Mere weeks later Fiona is poisoned and thus begins the mystery with Annie as a key suspect…

Some of the plot constructs are a little convenient - but totally in genre. This is a story that won’t disappoint anyone who likes a murder mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James. This is a classic murder/mystery, historical fiction, set in glamorous Hollywood in the 1940's.
If you like quirky characters and classic whodunit, this is the book for you. Ms. James did a great job of building characters that you would love to hate.

Set in 1943 Hollywood, Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen is a wonderful historical mystery. I loved the use of real places and characters, which added to the backdrop and mood of the story. I was quickly captivated by both Annie Laurence and the Ambassador's Club, a group Annie quickly becomes part of due to their shared disillusionment with their careers. The mystery set up that kept me guessing and all of our suspects seem to have a secret or two they wanted to keep hidden. The ending and reveal are satisfying. Historical Mystery readers will enjoy this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcesbooks Landmark for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Annie Laurence has received mild success as a playwriter in 1943 New York City but also has a secretive love life if revealed would ruin her career. (No spoilers!). When she hits career rock bottom, an out-of-the-blue job offer comes from Hollywood to write for films. With nothing to lose, Annie migrates west only to land in a cuthroat industry with no mercy. Annie meets a wisecracking group who drink and talk trash about everyone. Leading the pack is Fiona Farris, a spiteful gossip columnist. Everyone in Hollywood volunteers at the famous Hollywood Canteen to be seen and support the troops heading to war. When Fiona is murdered in the Canteen kitchen, Annie and her goup of friends all become suspects. Lots of cameos of famous actors enhance this story and Annie is a likeable character caught up in extreme controversy.

OMG! So good from the first page to the last. It takes you back to old Hollywood and uncovers secrets that we never could have imagined. An incrediblw take on a murder mystery.
Would highly recommend this book. This was such a great read!

In 1943, Annie Lawrence, a successful playwrite, finds that she is out of work when her play closes in New York City. She is depressed about a painful break-up too, so when Pacific Pictures offers her a job writing murder mysteries for their movie studio in Hollywood, she accepts the offer in hope of a fresh start. When she arrives she discovers that everyone working for the studios is required to volunteer at the Hollywood Canteen. Started by Bette Davis and John Garfield, the Hollywood Canteen was a place where servicemen could get sandwiches, drinks and dancing before they were sent to war. While there she runs into notorious gossip columinist Fiona Farris and her cynical group of entertainers. They meet regulary at the Ambassador’s Club so they called themselves the Ambassadors. They accept Annie into their group but the group and Hollywood aren’t what she was expecting. There is glamour and power but a dark side, too. When Fiona is found dead in the kitchen at the Hollywood Canteen, the police rule it a suicide but Annie is sure it isn’t. The police refuse to listen to her so she and The Ambassador’s begin to investigate on their own. However, the group begins to distrust each other because someon they know had to have been in the canteen kitchen with Fiona and killed her.

This book has witty dialogue, jokes and a fun mystery. The author brings in real life characters such as Bette Davis into the story. The author’s notes at the end of the book about the canteen and some of the entertainers who volunteered and performed there for the servicemen was really interesting. The Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen will be published on November 7, 2023. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced reading copy.

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I'd like to thank the publisher, NetGalley, and the author for allowing me a chance at reading this book.

I made it 25% through this book and realized - this is not only for me, but I'm not really feeling that old Hollywood vibe. I think it was the lack of real detail and how hammy / forced it felt. Nothing felt natural, and it all felt superficial for a story that is supposed to be about a girl who goes from New York to Hollywood.

It felt fake. Therefore, I knew that I was not going to enjoy the book and its tone and decided to abandon ship.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I made it about 27% of the way in before I had to DNF. The writing is fine, but I just didn't connect to any of the characters (there are so many of them!) and was able to put it down too easily. I'm sure readers who are more interested in old Hollywood and historical fiction will be interested in this.

This historical fiction was much different than others I have read int he past but in a good way. It is set in the 1940's during wartime. The Hollywood Canteen is a place where servicemen and women would go to unwind. I loved how they could take the glamourous lifestyle of old Hollywood and also show the dark sides all while having an enjoyable read. At times things were a bit ridiculous and over the top but aren't all things in Hollywood. I enjoyed all the twists and turns brought on by the murder mystery and would recommend this book to anyone who likes this time in history. Thanks, NetGalley for the ARC and I will be buying a physical copy when its released.

After the end of a long-term romantic relationship, Annie Lawrence, writer and playwright, decides to move across the US for a job offer with Pacific Pictures. It is 1944 and the US is at war. Six nights a week, the Hollywood Canteen opens its doors to 1500-2000 servicemen for free food, drink, dancing and entertainment before the men ship off for duty. Like others in the industry, Annie volunteers at the canteen, and makes the acquaintance of Fiona Farris, witty and sharp of tongue and pen, who writes about the entertainment industry.

Annie becomes fast friends with Fiona and joins the “ambassador club” an informal group of failed celebrities who party and drown their sorrows together. Fueled by alcohol, the group is a dysfunctional mix of friendship, laughter, envy and competition. One evening at the canteen, Fiona dies suddenly of poisoning and everyone in her circle is a suspect, including Annie. Did someone in Annie’s new circle of friends murder Fiona? And what about Annie, who has more of a history with Fiona than she admits? Annie assumes the role of amateur detective to figure out the killer and determine which friends she can actually trust, while two corrupt LAPD detectives eye Annie with suspicion.

All I can say is “wow”! This wonderful novel transported me to WWII Los Angeles during the golden era of the big movie studios. The movie industry is big business, and the studios are all-powerful in tinsel town, making or breaking careers and lives at will. Of course gossip columnists and entertainment writers are powerful as well, with the ability to elevate or destroy a career at the flick of a pen. This was the era of Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper, when a mention in their newspaper columns could be a victory or a catastrophe. So the murder of Fiona Farris, right before she is about to publish a bombshell article, makes perfect sense. The plot and pace are consistently engaging and exciting; the characters so vividly depicted that they performed a Technicolor film in my imagination. Annie is a likeable and sympathetic character, a lamb in a town full of wolves, who finds her feet and perseveres to a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed this novel so much! Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for this digital copy.

Highly entertaining, Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen hooked me from the beginning. Sarah James’ book kept me guessing, jumping from suspect to suspect. Her humor was perfect especially for the time period. With poignant lines regarding life, friendship, pessimism, and grief. James kept me engaged and not just thinking that this was a dime a dozen murder mystery. But my favorite part was the Victor Hugo joke. Well done.

Hollywood's Golden Age has always been one of my favorites to explore, and Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen is a solid mystery set amidst the glamorous, but often seedy, world of Los Angeles in the 1940's. I really liked the initial set up of playwright Annie and her unusual romance with a thespian couple in New York, and the ensuing heartbreak when Hollywood comes a'callin' for said couple, leaving our protagonist behind. When she gets an opportunity to pursue a screenwriting career, she makes the cross country move to LA and winds up falling into the Ambassadors' Club, a group of sharp-tongued, almost-famous friends. All of that was great. But as the story becomes less about the world and more about the whodunnit plot, I found myself less engaged. It felt more cookie-cutter and less original than I'd hoped. Often, I find myself bored by a lack of plot and stuck in the mud with endless character development, but in this case, I'd have much rather seen the book focus more on the complicated interpersonal relationships between the characters and less on the murder or on Annie's trying to keep herself out of jail.

I truly wanted to love this book as it is based in one of my all time favorite eras! ! I am obsessed with classic Hollywood, so it was fun when real Golden Era stars would show up during the story. The Hollywood Canteen always has been so interesting - I loved how it brought light and cheer into the lives of soldiers. I also adore a good cozy mystery. This just didn’t hit the mark for me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read this.

This was a solid story of historical fiction with a murder mystery slant. Overall the characters were well developed and fun to read. Set at the real life Hollywood Canteen it gave a peek into the war-time Hollywood scene.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.
*3.5*

Who doesn’t like diving into old Hollywood and peaking behind the show biz curtain occasionally? Especially when a murder is involved. And not just any murder but the killing of a famous review critic whose write ups are known for their brutal honesty and ability to destroy a person’s career with just a pen. Everyone either hated her or loved to hate her but like most people in Hollywood, no one really knew her, including Annie who is fresh from her Broadway smash, trying to make it in Hollywood after a break up from two people in her romantic threesome.

Oh I so wanted this to grab me. Annie’s new Hollywood friends have some terrific banter though after a while it grows stale leaving you to wonder why they all hang out together if they can’t say anything nice…ever. The beginning for me was pretty slow. Chapter 8 picked things up for me but it didn’t even start really chugging until my Kindle hit 50%. That’s dedication right there, but I did honestly want to know who was the killer. Because there are a ton of characters here, possibly too many to keep track of at first.

I loved this mixture of Old Hollywood drama and a cozy murder mystery. It turned out to be a perfect blend of the two genres where avoiding scandal at all costs leads to murder. Annie is a playwriter in NYC in the 40's who writes murder mysteries. Her leading actors are a married couple, Adam and Bev, and the three of them have had much success. They also share a secret that, if it got out, would sink their careers. When their latest play is reviewed by the irascible critic, Fiona Farris, she points her barbs at them in a way that makes them fear that she knows their secret. So, when Adam and Bev agree to a contract with MGM, they dump Annie and move to California without so much as a glance back at their old life. Annie is at loose ends without them. Her play closes without the leading couple and Annie is having terrible writer's block. When she is offered a contract with Pacific Studios, she says goodbye to NY and hello to CA. She meets studio head, Devlin, on the first day and is afraid that she has made a mistake signing her contract because all he wants her to do is write a musical film to feature his new attraction, composer Henry Hilbert, who he poached from another studio. But Annie doesn't write musicals, so Devlin's assistant, Irma, gives her a prescription for something to help her with the writer's block. She also tells Annie that the studio is responsible for running the Hollywood Canteen on Wednesday nights. The canteen caters to servicemen due to be shipped out and, on each night, a different studio provides snacks, drinks and entertainment. All of Pacific's employees are required to volunteer to work at the canteen. When Annie shows up for her first shift, she runs into Fiona Farris and her group of friends dubbed The Ambassador's Club for their propensity to drink at the Ambassador Hotel's club, The Coconut Grove. Fiona introduces Annie to her friends, actress June Lee, comedian Jack Kott, pianist, Victor Durand and producer, Terry Levine. They are friends who resemble misfit toys for they all think that they are destined for better things and they resent the hold that the studios have on them. And, like Annie, each of them are hiding a secret that would kill their career. For a few weeks, Annie hangs out with the Club and she enjoys their easy rapport with one another, their mostly lighthearted jokes and personal insults, which lead to good natured bickering like old married couples. But there is a current of truth underneath it all that could be devastating if ever revealed and Fiona is the one who seems to have the dirt on everyone. So, when she ends up dead at the Canteen, all of the members of the club are suspect. Annie decides that since the murderer used the poison from her most recent play, she should be able to find the killer since the police seem intent to call Fiona's death a suicide. At first, she works with the Club members to try to find evidence but soon the Club members start to turn on one another, suspecting each other of killing Fiona. Annie eventually finds out the truth, but not before her life is at risk but, luckily for her, the Club members come to her rescue. Such a fun book full of witty dialogue and interesting characters. I highly recommend! Thank you to NetGally for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Mystery and history, my favorite combination to read! Prior to reading this book, I didn’t know much about Hollywood’s contribution to the war effort so learning about the Hollywood Canteen was fascinating to me. Is the storyline completely plausible? Maybe not. Was it fun and intriguing? Absolutely! I read this book in one day because I had to know who the murderer was! I really enjoyed the banter between the main characters, the author is quite witty. I’d recommend this book for a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen was a little bit ridiculous, in a Hollywood sort of way. After only a few days,the main character is all of a sudden best friends with a group of people who had known each other for 20 years. I guess that’s perhaps plausible in Hollywood. What’s weird is that in a town where personalities are supposed to be larger than life, the characters in this book are just self deprecating and boring. While there were definitely some funny parts, I often wondered just how these people were friends when all they do is ruthlessly roast each other. Maybe that’s just a Hollywood thing?

4.5 stars! Last Night at The Hollywood Canteen was an excellent whodunit set in wartime Hollywood. The writing style was fast-paced, buzzy and left me wanting to read more even before the murder mystery element began.

The book had humor that made me laugh out loud, witty characters, and an ending that surprised me! The setting was fun, and in a book about Hollywood, the main character not being an actress was a great choice.

I read this quickly because I kept wanted to go pick the book back up. It was everything I wanted in a whodunit! I truly think this book will be a hit when it is released on November 7, 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author, for allowing me an advance copy of this great book!

Old Hollywood Glamor and a murder mystery! Absolutely delightful. Two of my favorite things. I was completely absorbed in this and I didn't stop until it was done. Absolutely perfect "Chefs kiss"
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