I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Eve Ronin is back, along with her partner Duncan Pavone, who has decided not to retire. This time the duo are investigating the murder of a reality show star in another gated community in Calabasas, California. To complicate Eve's life, the TV show based on her is being filmed with her estranged father directing.

Another tightly written police procedural from television writer Lee Goldberg, 'Dream Town', is the fifth in the series featuring the earnest young detective with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

Eve is young, tenacious and dedicated to her job, but has a lot to learn, especially when it comes to the political side of her job. She rejects the assertion she's playing politics, but doesn't understand every decision she makes *is* political. While she is an assertive detective, her personal life is the opposite. Eve is constantly railroaded by her family. I hope in future books we see Eve learn to assert boundaries with her overbearing mother who, made me cringe and want to yell at her for spending her time at the station to 'research her role'.

The strengths of this series, however, is the partnership and rapport between Eve and Duncan. In Duncan, Eve has someone who guides and mentors her to be a more careful detective and represents a bit of a father-figure given her deadbeat father.

There are also times that I find the descriptions of California, while excellent for immersing me into the story, were a bit repetitive that could've been cut without affecting the story. While I found it fairly easy to guess some of what was going on this book was a solid and reliable gore-free crime that will keep you entertained. I look forward to more Eve and Duncan.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC.

This, the fifth of the Eve Ronin stories, is a witty and winsome addition to Goldberg's body of work. It can be read as a stand-alone novel, because I have not read most of the previous books in this series.

Eve and her partner Duncan must head off to the gated community of Hidden Hills, which represents some of the wilder extremes of Tinseltown. A reality star, Kitty Winslow, has been murdered shortly after showing off her flashy engagement ring to her social media followers.

The trick for this officer duo is now to discover who was responsible for the actual killing, which partly depends on what the motive was. Personal jealousy, delusion/obsession, envy wrt her profile or, perhaps simplest of all, robbery? The possibilities are many...

Meanwhile, the Winslow family are seeking. Reality TV stars, they interact with a fan base that can't tell the difference between scripted shows and real life. There is a sly nod given to the Kardashians in the form of a reference to a celebrity sex tape, so no prizes for guessing who the Winslows are modelled on!

In addition to Kitty's murder within the gated community, there is also a case involving the finding of human remains at a nearby location outside. So Eve and Duncan have their hands full...

And if that weren't enough, there is also a meta aspect and an element of the ridiculous on offer, in the form of the cowboy-booted deputy sheriff responsible for security within the gates of Hidden Hills, and the fact that Eve's story has been sold and is being made into byTV show - by none other than her estranged father! - for which the shooting is underway in the area.

This is an entertaining and fast-moving story, full of larger than life characters. Goldberg delivers some slick storytelling, and for sure, fans of the Eve Ronin series will have nothing to complain about with this one.

We are up to book 5 now in the Eve Ronin series and they keep getting better and better. The ‘Dream Town’ referred to in the title is the exclusive gated community Hidden Hills, where the rich and famous are free to live their life like ‘normal people’. It’s here the reality family the Winslows live. Think a family like the Kardashians, except less of them. Kitty Winslow is the main draw card of the famous family and when she is shot and killed in her home it’s up to Eve and Duncan to sort the facts from reality (TV) fiction and find Kitty’s killer.
I really enjoyed ‘Dream Town’. It was a fast paced, riveting, police procedural book with a good dash of Hollywood thrown in. I also thought the subplot about the making of the TV pilot episode of Eve’s life story was intriguing. Learning a bit about the goings on and making of TV shows was interesting. And Lee Goldberg would know all about this seeing as he’s the author behind the wonderful TV show ‘Monk’.
A compelling page turner, couldn’t put it down. 4 stars from me.

Eve has sold her story, and her estranged father is the director of her eponymous TV series, which makes doing her job even more challenging. She and Duncan have a new case: Kitty, a reality TV star, has been murdered just after displaying her massive engagement ring on social media. Could the murderers be Chilean criminals who are targeting the wealthy? A local rapper with ties to the Crips who hated Kitty? Or maybe someone even closer to her? And how does Amos, a local cop who wears a Stetson and patrols on horseback, fit into the picture? This mystery definitely kept me guessing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Lee Goldberg offers another satisfying novel in his Eve Ronin series with Dream Town. Eve is a homicide detective in the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department. Her area is outside of downtown LA, instead in the beach and mountain area communities of the rich and famous.
In this novel there are a couple of mysteries that draw her in. First, there is a discovery of body parts buried in a state park that may be related to gang killings. Additionally, there is a murder within the household of a famous television family known for their reality series (think Kardashians). She investigates the crime within a gated community run more like a Western town with their own local law enforcement.
As with all the Ronin series of books, there is a lot of great characters, the development of which is a strength of Goldberg as a writer. Whether it be her estranged tv director dad, who is filming the pilot of a series based on her exploits, her want to be actress mother (divorced from her dad) or her detective partner Duncan “Donuts” Pravone, there are enough elements in the story that keep the plot moving, and the reader guessing and often laughing.
Dream Town is a fitting entry into a fine series. New readers can enjoy this on its own, as Goldberg is astute at providing needed details from previous novels without revealing too much, should this, as it likely will, encourage the reader to begin the series.
Regardless, if you know Eve Ronin, or Lee Goldberg’s plethora of novels, or not, this reviewer is confident that the reader will enjoy this newest novel, Dream Town.

Detective Eve Ronin stars in this unmistakably Hollywood procedural featuring the murder of a reality TV star. Meanwhile, Eve herself is the subject of a Hollywood adaptation of her own life—to everyone’s glee but her own. Her partner, Duncan, is just excited about all the food available on set, and both Eve’s parents are involved in the production. Some of the crazy real estate—complete with fancy cars used as interior decor—is reminiscent of similar properties from Malibu burning. In short, the setting is Southern California to the extreme, and the characters are crazy in all the best ways. If Lee Goldberg managed to write 3 books in one year before the current Hollywood strikes, we can probably look forward to 4 or 5 next year now that he’s presumably less busy with film and TV projects. That’s good news for detective fiction fans.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a digital advance review copy.

Lee Goldberg provides a wonderful thriller involving Eve Ronin, a sheriffs department detective as she and her partner seek to solve the murder of a reality TV star and the theft of her new engagement ring. The murder takes place in a unique gated community that is fashioned after an Old West town. Each house has a western flair and a stable for horses (or not) on the property. The upper crust of the entertainment industry are the residents and they are watched over by a sheriff who looks and acts like a sheriff from a town in the Old West. Meanwhile Eve is also dealing with the filming of a TV show directed by her estranged father that will be based on her life. This is a very stressful case and her own"celebrity" is often an interruption to getting her job done.
This is a great adventure and will be enjoyed by those who love police thrillers. The book is the 5th book in the series and while the background story of the other books will be helpful - it could be read alone.The witer has a certain cinematic pace to his writing, probably because he has done extensive work in the entertainment business - writing , screenplays , directing etc. These skills give a reality and truthfulness to the characters and situations they are involved in. I enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this writer!

I liked this book but I just couldn't get into the story. I didn't like the writing style but overall the story was good.

Fans of the Eve Ronin detective books will love this newest title, as will any reader who is looking for an action-packed mystery/suspense story with a glamorous, glitzy setting. When a reality TV star is murdered in her wealthy gated community, Eve investigates, and quickly finds that the two have a few things in common. I look forward to recommending this excellent title.

I didn’t realise this was part of a series – maybe the 4th or 5th book – when I started reading it. There were some references to earlier events, and a general assumed familiarity with the main characters, but it was still easy enough to follow. I actually liked the feeling of being dropped into something in media res. The story itself is pretty straight forward and zeitgeisty – a reality TV family clearly based on the Kardashians, gated communities etc. Very much a breezy holiday crime read. Some interesting parallels between the case and the world of TV production/editing, which is how it gets solved in the end.

Suspect that the Eve Ronin character will appeal to a lot of readers, but I found her a bit of a one note kick ass heroine.

In this latest installment featuring Eve Ronin and her partner, Duncan Pavone, we find ourselves in the surreal world of Hidden Hills, a secluded paradise reserved for the mega-rich. The local deputy sheriff, decked out in full cowboy attire, presides over this seemingly idyllic enclave with unwavering seriousness. But when a call comes in reporting the murder of reality show celebrity Kitty Winslow, the dreamy façade of Hidden Hills shatters, and Eve and Duncan are thrust into a whirlwind investigation.
I absolutely adore this series! Sure, it can be a tad over-the-top at times, but it's undeniably thrilling and entertaining. "Dream Town" delivers another gripping police procedural with a cast of fantastic characters, a breakneck plot, murder mysteries, hidden remains, and the chaotic world of a reality show family.
Lee Goldberg, a master of storytelling, takes us on a wild ride as Eve Ronin navigates the blurred lines between reality and illusion in her quest to solve these chilling crimes. With the added complexities of a turbulent music industry war and a ruthless Chilean gang, Eve's world is in chaos, further exacerbated by her estranged father's involvement in turning her life into a cop show. As the body count rises, media frenzy escalates, and reality itself becomes increasingly elusive, Eve Ronin's struggle for truth and survival becomes an electrifying narrative you won't want to put down. "Dream Town" is an edge-of-your-seat thriller that never lets go. It's a page-turner that keeps you guessing until the very end, and I can't recommend it enough.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC to this book in exchange for an honest review. I have been a faithful reader of the Eve Ronin series and they have all been good. I feel there is some parallels to the Detective Ballard character in the Harry Bosch world, but I really have enjoyed Detective Ronin's adventures in her own area in the Southern California area. This time Eve is working to untangle the mystery of the murder of a reality TV star and the relationship with all of the family members (can you say Kardashians?). What can I say, I was thoroughly entertained and finished this in one sitting. Go out and get it! 4-stars

Many thanks to both Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Dream Town, by Lee Goldberg. Expected publication: January 16, 2024. It's #5 in the Eve Ronin series.

We're back with Eve Ronin and her partner, Duncan Pavone. This time they're in the mega-rich area called Hidden Hills, which is a private, celebrity enclave of white-picket-fences and horse trails that seems to exist in a dream world. The deputy sheriff who rules over Hidden Hills wears cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, and takes his job VERY seriously! When Eve and Duncan get a call that a reality show celebrity named Kitty Winslow has been shot and killed, we're off and running!

I love this series!! Yes, it's over the top sometimes, but it's always fun to read. Dream Town is a police procedural with great characters, a fast-paced plot, murder, skeletal remains, and a reality show family. I feel it can be read as a standalone, although all of the books in the series I've read have been five stars. Mr. Goldberg's writing is smart, and witty at the same time! I absolutely loved it when Eve referenced something the fictitious Harry Bosch always says: "Everybody Counts or nobody counts.."

Interestingly, there really is a Hidden Hills near Calabasas and it really is patrolled by a Deputy Sheriff. (Without the boots and hat, however.) Mr. Goldberg stated: "If aliens from another planet wanted to create a zoo for human beings and put it under a dome, it would be Hidden Hills."

I love this series. The local color is so fun. Eve Ronin coerced her way into a promotion in the first book. Ever after she continues to show why it was also deserved. Mr. Goldberg has written many, many, other books and I have enjoyed many of them. This series is his best so far as I am concerned.

Again, Mr Goldberg has managed very close to perfection. The characters are fantastic, and Eve is someone I feel like I know really well by now. Add great and linear storytelling, a very good plot, an interesting setting, some suspense and some humor, and you see what a very professional author can do.

I've read just about everything Lee Goldberg has written, and I love all of his characters. Except Eve Ronin. She has this partly naive but partly egotistical way of navigating the world that makes me a little bit crazy. And I think that's why I'm so drawn to this series. It's easy to read a series about characters you love. Reading about Ronin presents a bit more challenge, but it's also fun to see her grow and learn (just a LITTLE bit) with each book.

In this adventure, Ronin is up to her usual tactics in spite of her best efforts to change. And her partner, Duncan, is as entertaining as ever. Now HE is a likable character. As usual, the story is set against a backdrop of real places and highlights fictional characters you'd swear you recognize as real people. I'd love to know if the Kardashians provided any inspiration for the Winslows...

Ronin books are always an adventure, always exciting, and always a bit frustrating in the best way. If you've enjoyed the other Ronin books, this installment won't disappoint. Lee Goldberg has the best imagination!

Ebook/Murder Mystery: This is book four of the Eve Ronin series and I want to thank Netgalley for a copy of the book,..even though it took me a while because I had to catch up as I was two books behind.
I'm glad I was able to read the next installment of the series. Eve and Dunkin are such fun partners and I hate when the book is over and my friends disappear.
Fun series with rich characters. I love that Eve gives her dad no slack as an absentee father.

Reading the Eve Ronin and now the Sharpe and Walker series as they're released give me this acute feeling of being "in" on a writer whose popularity is on the cusp of exploding. These books are so good and Goldberg has been so prolific lately (3 books in a 12 month span) that reading them makes you feel like he must be a household name. Eve Ronin continues to be a compelling character and the case she works to solve in this book is again interesting, engaging, and fun, with callbacks to earlier cases and even a reference to Sharpe from Malibu Burning, care of Duncan. I love this series and look forward to (and get excited about!) each entry. I will be purchasing a copy to add to my bookshelf alongside the other 4 in the series when Dream Town is out. Thank you to the author and publisher for the free advance copy! I will read everything Lee Goldberg writes.

We are back with Eve Ronin and her partner. They get a call that a celebrity named Kitty Winslow has been killed now they must solve the crime if it is a crime, because she and the family have a reality show. Also, the home of the murder is in an inclusive neighborhood hood which is also policed by one officer from the sheriff's department. She and that officer really don’t see eye to eye. You come to find out about a music war and also a Chilean gang which all have caused problems and maybe any of these could be a reason or not. While this is all going on she is also dealing with the TV show about her that her father and mother seem to think they control. A really good book and a Who Done It that will surprise you at least it did me. Good characters as well.