I had a hot and cold relationship with this book. It was very slow paced at times and then suddenly it would pace fast and become interesting and exciting just to double down to slow pace. It happened several times that I was totally engrossed in the book and wanted to know what happens next but it would just lose its pace and the excitement would die down.

The writing is good. It gave me some —the secret history or if we were villains's character vibes. All hateful, no one to like or feel for , so basically dark academia vibes.

It's classic who dunnit based in Hollywood in between 1940-1950s. It gives insight into the glamorous life which can make you blind and raises the question of if anyone is really happy in the Hollywood or if they even have any morals left.

Overall a good story but I did not like the ending. The reveal was meh. There were many things that did not make sense. Annie was too fast to get to the conclusions and the last clue she got which led her to the murderer was really dumb. For a such a smart book the ending was totally off.

Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS landmark for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James combines old Hollywood glamour with a murder mystery for a delightful, fun read! The plotline was creative and unique with well-defined morally questionable characters, lots twists and turns, dark humor and great dialogue! I highly recommend and can’t wait to read more from Sarah James.

I COULD NOT PUT THIS ONE DOWN! This had all the makings of a classic whodunit and I flipped through the virtual pages so quickly my Kindle almost broke. I loved the mingling of real life celebrities with fictional characters and James did a wonderful job of walking the line of fact and fiction - in my mind, this could have actually happened at the famed Hollywood Canteen.

That being said, I didn't particularly love any of the characters aside from Jack - he reminded me of my favorite male celebrities of today (think Harry Styles with his pretty boy looks and his fear of commitment). Aside from the characters, I felt like there were some elements thrown in that didn't add to the storyline whatsoever aside from being "progressive" or "scandalous." However, I did appreciate the queer representation as I feel like being queer was far more common than we realize yet far more taboo in the golden age of Hollywood.

Lights camera action!!! Murder mystery x Golden Age Hollywood, say less!

It's one of the few murder mysteries that i really quite enjoyed.

I really loved all the details about Hollywood at that time, the glitter, the cameras, the backstabbing and the secrets! Most of the characters were relatable in their own way!

The dynamic of this friend group is something else. I laughed a lot in certain scenes!

Thank you Netgalley and Sarah James for this ARC!

I really enjoyed Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen. I’m a big fan of mid-century historicals, and the mystery element combined with the Hollywood storyline was super fun. There was a great combination of romantic and platonic relationship building and the dialogue is fast-paced and well-written. The characters are fleshed out very well, especially in the core group of the Ambassador Club. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a Hollywood story or a good mystery. I didn’t figure anything out before the end and it was a treat until the final page.

My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an advance reader’s copy.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James was simply not my cup of tea.

After reading the premise I really thought that I would love this book but it unfortunatelly let me down.

First of all, I couldn't connect with any of the characters nor did I root for any of them. The main heroine was at times so annoying with her constant jumping to conclusions without any thinking.

There were a lot of red herrings, so many things were over the top, including the ending.
The story started strong and was engaging but slowly it started slowing down and dragging and it couldn't hold my interest.

What I liked about it was the fact that there was a lot of true facts about Hollywood of that time and it was was originally drew me to the story and that part didn't disappoint.

I absolutely loved the book. The suspense and the action was amazing.
The characters were too good.
The story is very interesting.
I liked Fiona's character - the most hated critic reviewer in Hollywood - giving anybody a reason to murder her.

I would like to thank the author arc.

Read if you like…
🎥 Old Hollywood
🎥 Damien Chazelle’s Babylon
🎥 Cozy-ish mysteries
🎥 New takes on WWII stories

I’m still dipping my toes back into the world of historical fiction, and have been trying to focus on books set in my favorite eras, or ones focused on my favorite subjects, and Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen, a mystery set in the Hollywood studio system during WWII, seemed like the perfect fit.

The book follows playwright Annie Laurence as she attempts to rejuvenate her career and become a screenwriter, but stumbles upon a murder within her new group of friends. It’s breezy and snappy and has the rhythm of an Old Hollywood film. I really enjoyed all of the details of the Hollywood Studio system and references to real life movies and stars, as well as the diversity of the characters. I also learned a lot about the Hollywood Canteen, which was a real place in the 1940s!

This would be a great book for anyone who is interested in exploring historical fiction or is looking for a fairly chill mystery that won’t leave you sleeping with the lights on.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen is available now. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Love the old Hollywood vibes!
Whodunit at its best! The murder mystery was ✨ twisty ✨
The ending >>>

The start of the book was a little slow but after that the story really picked up and i had a lot of fun reading it
Thank you netgalley for the arc

Strong 4 stars or 4.25. This book took me by surprise. The beginning was a little slow, but it picked up in the last half and really paid off.
Pros: The dialogue was so good; I laughed out loud several times; moderately paced murder mystery
Cons: Lots of characters to keep track of; wished the ending was slightly longer; ending felt too fast

This is a book that Fiona would declare, "A solid effort, with bright snappy dialogue, but the characters are sometimes painfully one-dimensional. The tapestry of the writing is like a knit piece, warm, great for long winter evenings, but full of holes when you lift it up to the light."

The Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen was a fresh twist to the typical murder mystery. I greatly appreciated the insight into 1940's Hollywood. Was this my favorite murder mystery? No. But it isn't one that I will readily forget either.

This book started out really great but the pace was off and it was really droney. I found myself getting distracted. The end was fine but the whole book lacked lustre. I guess I was expecting more but it totally missed the mark for me.

The characters were one dimensional and the book needed so much more

2.5 stars rounded to 3

This book is set in 1943 Hollywood. Main character Annie is a murder mystery Broadway playwright who gets hired to work at a Hollywood studio. Shortly after moving, she falls into a group of movie biz friends, and then one of them - Fiona Farris, a harsh critic whose review upended Annie’s life - dies. The police rule it a suicide, but Annie is convinced it’s murder, and begins investigating while also getting more caught up with the group.

After a bit of a slow start, this was a fun and different one. There was a great sense of place and time with the 1940s Hollywood setting, and I loved the zingy repartee of the group of friends. And the mystery was good too!

3.75 stars

I'm an avid reader of historical fiction and was drawn to the 1943 Hollywood setting. The novel follows NYC playwright Annie who accepts a job working for an LA movie studio after experiencing heartbreak and a desire to shake up her life. The movie studio requires all staff, including the famous movie stars of the time, to volunteer at The Hollywood Canteen, a which was a real entertainment venue for WWII servicemen. Quickly into the novel, a journalist affiliated with the main character, Annie, is found dead inside the Canteen. When a police investigation begins, Annie begins to question whether any of her new friends or colleagues could be the killer, but unwittingly becomes the primary suspect herself. Although I really enjoyed certain subplots in the novel, the main theme of the murder mystery at the Hollywood Canteen felt flat for me. I found myself skimming the end and never became fully invested in Annie's quest to solve the crime in order to clear her name.

Thank you to the author, Sourcebooks Landmark, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Unique blend of murder mystery, a tell-all of Hollywood during the war years and the personalities and wit of the Algonquin Round Table. Certainly entertaining, it had the feel of a madcap mystery from Hollywood's early years but with real secrets that were hidden by studios. A quick read with some deliciously delightful banter.

A historical fiction set in 1940s Hollywood that has a little bit of everything. It’s full of old school Hollywood characters and all the glamour and gossip that goes with it. It is at its core a murder mystery. I enjoyed the cast of characters and the intrigue. The writing is solid, but I would say the pacing may be a bit slow for some. I would definitely recommend this for historical fiction fans as it’s also a time period not overly saturated.

Thank you to the publisher and author for the chance to read and review this novel.

Loved this book. It’s got a bit everything.

Last Night At The Hollywood Canteen was a fun ‘old Hollywood’ murder mystery whodunit and I adored it.

The old Hollywood feel seeps through the pages through the writing, humor and characters. The mystery was solid and gave me all the locked in vibes. I didn’t guess correctly and was surprised. Romantic entanglements and secrets galore kept me turning the pages quickly.

Love that The Hollywood Canteen was a real nightclub that stars entertained soldiers at back in the forties in the real old Hollywood.

I’m a sucker for those stars and that time period in Hollywood. Loved it!

Last Night At The Hollywood Canteen is a 1940’s throwback mystery story set in Hollywood where stardom meets addiction meets jealousy meets frenemies meets murder. Set during the time of Bette Davis and Mickey Rooney, the story revolves around a young playwright who moves to Hollywood and befriends a band of what could only be called misfit, alcoholic, movie, music and radio stars. When one of the friends is murdered at the Hollywood Canteen, a club for servicemen to dance and relax, they know it would be in the best interest for their careers to figure out exactly what happen.

Annie Laurence is the playwright who is coming off a high. Her Broadway show was a success for the most part but due to circumstances…both leads signed with a movie company in Los Angeles, and it shuts down. Devastated at not only the loss of the show, but her relationship with the two stars, when offered a job herself, she jumps at the chance to move to LA and work on a script for a movie.

But Annie goes there with a few secrets. And when she goes to the famous Hollywood Canteen to volunteer, she sees Fiona Farris, a famous film critic who alluded to her secret in a review she did of her play, and she becomes nervous. But Fiona introduces her to a band of actors/musicians who she quickly befriends. But are they friends? The seem to love to hate each other! But things take a terrible turn when Fiona is found dead at the club. At first it is ruled a suicide, but the friends seem to think it is much more sinister. Who would have it out for Fiona? Yes, she was hated for her honesty but enough to kill?

But when the friends begin digging, they discover Fiona had been working on a mysterious story which by chance could have ruined someone’s career. But whose?

So as any narcissistic stars would do, they band together to try and discover what really happened to Fiona and what and whose secret she was trying to expose. And that of course is when everybody’s skeletons in the closet slowly surface. Annie herself is panic stricken as she knows if her secret gets out it could be the end of her career!

As for her “career” Annie has a terrible case of writer’s block and hasn’t been able to write a complete sentence since she arrived at the studio. What if she gets fired?

But the case begins to turn, and when Annie gets a brick thrown into her apartment, she realizes she’s on to something. But someone else clearly knows that as well. Then Annie is arrested for the murder of Fiona! How will she be able to prove her innocence? More important who of these friends can she truly trust? Could one of them have really killed Fiona?

Last Night At The Hollywood Canteen is a terrific murder mystery filled with gruff characters who are great at not telling the truth, who are funny and quirky who are able to keep up the facade Hollywood is known for even if it might kill them in the process. But wouldn’t that make them even more famous? Hmmm….

Thank you #NetGalley #SourcebooksLandmark #SarahJames #LastNightAtTheHollywoodCanteen for the advanced copy.

1943 Hollywood sounds glamourous but in the midst of WW2, the stars also were doing their part to support servicemen  volunteering at the Hollywood Canteen.

Murder mystery playwright Annie Laurence finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time when a savage tongued theatre and film critic is murdered at the canteen.

Annie initially lived in New York, in a complex love and working relationship with a married couple.  When they move to Hollywood on a too good to be true offer, Annie falls apart but then finds a way to also have a new start....in Hollywood.

Far from glitter and glamour, she is swept along in a group of new nasty self centred friends, telling lies and keeping secrets. No one can be trusted....not even the police. 

Rather than writing a murder, Annie is forced to solve it....or she will go down for it....or worse.

An interesting and diverse cast of characters....all set to lead you up the garden path as you try and solve the mystery as you read. At some stages I was very annoyed with there bickering and extended dialogue...but pushed through to reach the final conclusion I had also come to.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah James and Sourcebooks Landmark for my copy