I expected to read a story about a tragic event in the life of Lana Turner, but I got more than that from Casey Sherman’s new book. I was absolutely engrossed in the story and learned so much about old Hollywood. Lana Turner was one of my mother’s favorite actresses and I remember discussing the murder of Johnny Stompanato with her years ago when Cheryl Crane wrote a book about it.

Sherman’s story ties in the Hollywood mob world that Johnny Stompanato was a part of and connects it with Lana Turner and other Hollywood stars. There are also some quite spicy tidbits about stars from that era included in the story.

As for Lana, Sherman includes her family background and how she rose to stardom. Unlucky in love and child-bearing, Lana had a long and successful career. Lana and her daughter Cheryl managed to get past Johnny’s murder and go back to their lives as best they could. What was so sad to me is that Cheryl was exposed to so many of her mother’s lovers and not all were decent men.

Sad to say, but Johnny got what was coming to him and his death probably saved many others from a lot of misery.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to recommend this and give my honest review.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, which get you right into the heart of the matter from the beginning, it’s a true life tale of deception, betrayal and suspense!

The book offers a glimpse into the investigation of the murder of a prominent Hollywood producer, it’s the darker side of the glitz of Hollywood as we follow the story, the author lays it out brilliantly for us and I found myself immersed in this glamorously dark world.

The pacing is brisk and relentless, which I enjoyed – and it ensure the tension was palpable!

Having said that, in the interests of honesty, the book is not without its flaws, and while the pacing was mostly brisk, there were some bits that definitely did drag for me personally, but this did not detract from enjoying the book and because of my interest in the subject matter, and the many positives about the authors style and research, this was a five star read for me!

With thanks to NetGalley, Casey Sherman, and SOURCEBOOKS (non-fiction) for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I want to express my gratitude for the opportunity to read "A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime" through NetGalley. As someone who appreciates true crime narratives, I found your exploration of this infamous case to be both intriguing and thought-provoking.

Your meticulous research and attention to detail are evident throughout the book, and I commend you for your ability to weave together multiple threads of investigation into a cohesive narrative. The story of Tinseltown's most shocking crime is undeniably captivating, and your exploration of the events leading up to and following the murder kept me engaged from start to finish.

However, I must offer some constructive feedback. While your storytelling is compelling, I found myself wanting more depth and nuance in certain aspects of the narrative. Specifically, I wished for greater insight into the motivations and psychology of the individuals involved. Additionally, some parts of the story felt rushed or glossed over, leaving me with unanswered questions and a sense of wanting more.

Despite these critiques, "A Murder in Hollywood" has its strengths. Your writing is clear and accessible, making even the most complex legal and investigative details easy to follow. The book also offers a fascinating glimpse into the darker side of Tinseltown, shedding light on the seedy underbelly that lurks beneath the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

In conclusion, while "A Murder in Hollywood" may not have fully met my expectations, it is still a worthwhile read for fans of true crime or those with an interest in the inner workings of the entertainment industry. Your meticulous research and engaging storytelling make for an entertaining and informative book, and I look forward to seeing more from you in the future.

I could not put this down! There are so many familiar names that I had no idea were associated with such terrible things. I'd never even heard this about Lana Turner before. Revelatory, painful, heartbreaking, and full of what feels like earned vengeance. It was a fascinating look into Hollywood history, and a sharp reminder that some things still haven't changed.

Thank you to #SourceBooks and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #AMurderinHollywood. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

This is an interesting behind the scenes look at 1950's LA and the intersection of Hollywood glamour and the mob. It's the story of Lana Turner and the murder of Johnny Stompanato in her LA home. I'm a classic movie fan, but I had never heard this story. I enjoyed Lana's backstory on her discovery and rise to Hollywood Screen Queen. Sherman balanced the story with alternating chapters on the mafia characters and what was happening in the LA & Vegas at that time. Really interesting read.

I am DNFing this book at 40% but not because I feel like it is poorly written or not interesting. I feel like it is a very well researched book and is an extremely interesting book if I wanted to read about the history of mobsters in Hollywood. I definitely understand the need for the backstory behind certain people in this story and how they all played a part in what happened, but I think I wanted less of the mobster stories and more of Lana Turner's maybe? Or perhaps I wasn't expecting so much backstory and was ready to jump into the actual crime itself. Would I pick this book up again when I am wanting something like this? Yes. It just wasn't what I was expecting or what I was wanting/ in the mood for.

I remember watching a thing on TV [when I was a teenager] that talked about Lana Turner and the murder of Johnny Stompanato and was so intrigued by something that seemed so awful to my young teenage self, and then I promptly forgot about it. I had not, at that point, seen any of Lana Turner's movies [and to this day, still have not], though I knew about them of course [I watched the "old" movies with my beloved Aunt, and we watched who and what she liked and apparently Ms. Turner was not a part of that like ;-) ], but she was never really on my radar. So when I saw this book was about her [and the author was someone I had read before and enjoyed], I knew I needed to request/read it.

Whoosh.

This book is a lot of a lot. I went back and forth between feeling completely sorry for Ms. Turner and then in the next moment wanting to just shake her for some of the idiotic choices she made [Johnny Stompanato being one of the biggest ones, though her marriage with Lex Barker would be disastrous for her daughter Cheryl]. My true sorrow was for her daughter Cheryl who endured so much and had to watch her mother being abused over and over and over again - she truly had no childhood and I believe she would have done anything to save her mother from death.

If you love Old Hollywood and the stars from that time, this is a really good book for you. It never shies away from all the seriously damaging things that the men who controlled Hollywood did to the women who worked for them and how that played out between the stars and then also with their relationships - it will absolutely change your perspective of that time.

Whether or not you believe that Ms. Turner was the one who really wielded the knife that day, or if it was truly Cheryl Crane, this book will lead you down the path to that day. will present all the evidence and then leave the choice up to you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Casey Sherman, and SOURCEBOOKS (non-fiction) for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fascinating account of Lana Turner, Johnny Stompanato and Mickey Cohen. In depth look at Hollywood. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for a honest review!

So I unfortunately DNF this at around 50%. This was at no fault to the story or the writers. I do find the situation interesting, I just think I didn’t realize how OLD Hollywood this was, which is 100% my own fault. I struggled to finish it simply because I didn’t have much to relate to from that time. But the writing style is very good and if you have any interest in old Hollywood, I think you’ll definitely love it.

A Murder In Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime by Casey Sherman is a true crime novel about screen star Lana Turner, her daughter Cheryl Crane, and the murder of Lana's mobster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato. I give this four stars!

I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts, but I don't generally read a lot of non-fiction or true crime books. However, when I saw this, I just had to request an early copy from Sourcebooks. A movie lover, I've always been fascinated by the glory days of Old Hollywood...it also helps that Imitation of Life is my mom's favorite movie, so a biography of its star was definitely a high priority for me.

The first half of the book alternates between the life, loves, and career of Lana Turner and a history of the mob. I personally could have done without the history of Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel, or most of the other details about the mob, although it does have a bearing on Lana's story. I just felt that the history could have started with Johnny Stampanato and Mickey Cohen without everything that came before them. Lana's chapters I found much more riveting, with her many marriages and budding career...but that's really the part that interests me.

Well-researched and eloquently written, I did really enjoy this and gave it four stars. Lana's daughter, Cheryl Crane, didn't have a huge part in the overall story, although there were pieces of her life that came to the forefront at different times and the trial and aftermath were explored well.

I do want to note that there are trigger warnings for (of course) murder and stabbing, but also for abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional). If you are also averse to mentions of smoking or drinking, then proceed with caution.

All in all, this was a fascinating read about Old Hollywood, family secrets, and love gone wrong. Casey Sherman tells a great story and I'm definitely going to look up his other books!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Sourcebooks for a digital copy for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.

Lana Turner was a legendary actress whose life generated so much of Hollywood's history that she's almost as famous for her personal life as she is her film performances. There has been so many stories written on her life that you'd not expect to learn much from this latest biography......you'd be wrong. Casey Sherman has obviously done the research to so skillfully provide an indepth picture of Turner's life and career. As readers follow her rise to stardom while watching her personal life descend into violence and murder, the story holds so many revelations that I'm going to have to rethink what I knew of Turner's life. Sherman gets an easy 5 stars from this reader with the hope that his next book is as fascinating as this one.

I had heard about this story, but just the sensational headlines. I had no idea all the detail of their lives. The trauma for Lana Turner started long before she was “Lana.” It continued on in her personal life and her daughter Cheryl’s life. As perfect as her life seemed in public, it was horrific behind the scenes. It was tragic what Lana and I’m sure many other actresses had to deal with. I learned a lot about the mob in Hollywood. This was a fascinating story that I couldn’t put down.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

As a Producer, I love old Hollywood. It’s always intrigued me, and I can’t get enough of reading about Hollywood’s “golden age.” I’ve always been intrigued by Lana Turner, and was thrilled to get this book.

This story delves into more than just Lana’s life. It also discussed the mafia and how the organization had a lot of power in Los Angeles and Vegas. This was a pleasant surprise to me, and I was intrigued to learn more about this sordid history.

The one thing I can’t quite figure out about this book is that it’s considered true crime, but depicts how Lana’s boyfriend was killed in a different manner than what is on record. Without going into it too much, this book acts as if a conspiracy theory is real.

All things considered, I truly loved this story, and recommend it to anyone interested in old Hollywood. Thank you to Netgalley, and the publisher, for the ARC in exchange for the honest review!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
I enjoyed Casey Sherman’s prior true crime book, so I was excited to try the next one. While I knew little about Lana Turner prior to picking this book up, I enjoyed learning more about her and diving into the scandals she found herself in, including one her partners’ connection to organized crime which led to trouble and murder. This was a very readable, easily digestible book, capturing all the lurid details of the story, albeit with hindsight and even compassion for Lana and her daughter.

I am a Bibliophile and Cinephile, I love the classics in both Genres, so I know who Lana Turner is, or I thought I did! What a horrendous story, I feel like I need a shower, Lana made poor choices that eventually led to murder, the plethora of men, the bóoze, her smoking, the money she wasted, from being the highest paid actress in Hollywood, based not on talent but on her body measurements! I have two favorite Lana Turner movies in my library, Peyton Place and Imitation of Life, which happens to be my favorite. I will now look at them in a different light. I knew about the murder in an abstract kind of fashion, she was being attacked, her daughter saved her, I believe in self - defense, so I was not affected by the story. However, this book , if true, shows Lana to be what my Mother calls "White Trash", the sex, the booze, throwing her money away, bedding men that she knew were vile shows a lack of class that no amount of studio makeup or costumes can hide, nor can this author try to make her look like a Women's Rights Activist, when she literally allowed men to walk all over her! I wish that I had not read it, I will never look at her in the same light again, I believed her to be a hardworking woman who tóok care of her Mother and truly loved her daughter, only to find a woman who had no self - respect, no head for business, and an absentee parent! If you like the dirt on Hollywood Stars, then you will love this book, if like me, you prefer the studio version, it will make you nauseous and in need of a steam shower. There was too much information about the gangster Micky Cohen, which made the story even trashier, I almost stopped reading it because of the amount of time given to his character, I understand the connection, but thought information about Lana's mindset while making each movie during this time period would have humanized Lana more, the book seemed to be about the mob more than it was about Hollywood. 3,5
Thank you #Netgalley #Sourcebooks
carolintallahassee

Don’t waste your time on this book if you are interested in Lana Turner. Instead, I recommend Lana: The Lady, The Legend, The Truth by Lana Turner or Lana Turner: Hearts & Diamonds Take All by Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince. Sherman cites these two books most often in the parts of her book actually about Lana. Between the quotes from other sources and the unrelated tangents about other players in Hollywood, A Murder in Hollywood reads like a high school paper desperate to meet a word count quota.

Sherman does a great job of telling this "old Hollywood" story. I remember my mom telling a friend about Cheryl Crane, Lana's daughter having murdered her boyfriend. This is when the Mafia was a part of the movie business and there was a lot of corruption and abuse.

Lana starts her career at 15 and Sherman tells about her many husbands and history of abuse as well as her rise to stardom. She names names and it makes for very interesting reading. If you love movies or are a movie buff, you will love this story.

A Murder in Hollywood is a sad story about Lana Turner, her daughter Cheryl and Lana’s poor choices in men. Casey Sherman includes sexual, physical and emotional abuse, violence, and murder in this true crime novel. I believe that women had a hard time breaking into Hollywood in an era where so many men felt they were entitled to sex in exchange for favors. Lana made many mistakes in choosing a man which included Johnny Stompanato who was involved in the mob.
This would be a great book club choice as it would give everyone a chance to state their opinion on who actually killed Stompanato.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for this e-ARC. The review is entirely my opinion.

A Murder In Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown’s Most Shocking Crime by Casey Sherman

This is the story of actress Lana Turner and the murder case she found herself involved in. The author takes us through Turners life, including abusive relationships with her different partners and husbands, and her association with mob bosses in Hollywood. It is through one boss, Mickey Cohen, that she meets Johnny Stampanato, Cohen’s bodyguard and Turner’s eventual boyfriend. He was abusive and controlling of Lana and she became tired and afraid of him. Their relationship comes to a violent end when Lana’s teenage daughter stabs Stampanato in defense of her mother. Cleared by the court, Cheryl, Lana’s daughter, eventually lives with her grandmother.
The author did well describing the era of Hollywood and what was going on with mobsters and movie studios controlling the artists. The writing was engaging and it almost read like a crime novel. I like the nostalgic feel of old Hollywood and Casey Sherman dove into the underbelly of the glamour of that time. Abuse and violence against women should not be tolerated, and Sherman delivers Lana’s story well in regard to what happened in her life.
Content warning: strong language, sexual assault, violence
Thank you to Sourcebooks for letting me read this early as a arc on NetGalley. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I have always been intrigued by old Hollywood stories of lust, love, mayhem and murder. There’s something so mysterious about it and yet there’s also a sense of sadness. I’ve seen some of Lana Turner’s movies and personally I didn’t feel one way or the other about them. She was the typical movie starlet like her counterparts, Joan Crawford and later, Marilyn Monroe. She was the silver screen’s eye candy and many moviegoers flocked to see her blonde ringlets and bombshell curves. She became known as the “sweater girl,” of which she detested that title and worked hard to remove herself from it.

So, imagine my surprise when I learned of this novel. It was right up my alley of things I’d want to read and what an explosive read it was! Oh my, where do I even begin?! First off, I’m amazed at how so many Hollywood stars came into their fame. Lana wasn’t any different. In fact, she was still wet-behind-the-ears and got discovered while eating ice cream in a malt shop. A well-known journalist found Lana to be so beautiful and told her she ought to be in films. It happened just like that for her.

Although she didn’t have to work at it to get where she eventually got to, Lana wanted more than just the glitz and glam of Hollywood, Lana wanted love. She wanted it so much that she eventually married four times. One would think after the second failed marriage, she should stop, but in those days, a woman in her position wasn’t afforded the life of just dating a man and/or living in sin. If you were seen dating and stating you’re in love, you had to marry. But somewhere along the way, Lana lost herself.

It was at that time she was her most vulnerable and met a man who introduced himself as John Steele. Lana later learned that wasn’t the truth. For, the truth was much more sinister than a regular ordinary name. She was in fact dating “the” Johnny Stompanato, a well-known mobster and muscleman for “the” Mickey Cohen, a boss, and the man who founded and built The Flamingo in Las Vegas before it was “Las Vegas.” This was a story that couldn’t be made up. It’s often said that truth is stranger than fiction and these words couldn’t have rung truer in Lana Turner’s case.

One fateful night on April 4, 1958, Johnny Stompanato stormed into Lana Turner’s home demanding that she not end their love affair. Lana grew tired of his violent acts and fits of rage and needed for him to leave. Well, he did just that, but not in the way either of them could have imagined. When all was said and done, Stompanato was left on Lana’s carpet with a wound to his abdomen dead. This became one of Hollywood’s most notorious murder mysteries of those times.

Sherman did a magnificent job detailing the backstory of all the mobsters and how they tied into Lana Turner’s life. I found this book mesmerizing and extremely interesting. I learned things about big time Hollywood stars that make me look at their bodies of work and them, in a completely different light. In fact, I threw some side eyes in their direction. I will never view some of those stars quite the same way as I once did. Holy cow!!! This book was quite explosive and I could not get enough. This satisfied all my cravings for a good old-fashioned murder that happened to be true. Wow!