Asta, the dog from the popular Thin Man series, has vanished, and production for his next film is pending. MGM Studios offers a huge reward, and that’s exactly what young private detectives Babs Norman and Guy Brandt need for their struggling business to survive. Celebrity dognapping now a growing trend, when the police and city pound ridicule Basil Rathbone and ask, “Sherlock Holmes has lost his dog?” Basil also hires the B. Norman Agency to find his missing Cocker Spaniel.

The three concoct a plan for Basil to assume his on-screen persona and round up possible suspects, including Myrna Loy and William Powell; Dashiell Hammett, creator of The Thin Man; Nigel Bruce, Basil’s on-screen Doctor Watson; Hollywood-newcomer, German philanthropist and film financier Countess Velma von Rache, and the top animal trainers in Tinseltown. Yet everyone will be in for a shock when the real reason behind the canine disappearances is even more sinister than imagined.

Cannot wait to devour this series. Loved it.

After reading some very serious books (A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them, James by Percival Everett and The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War, I needed something light! This was a EARC from Netgalley and was published on March 5, 2024 by Level Best Books - Historia.

Something I never saw before--in the intro pages, there's a statement, "Elizabeth Crowens (the author) asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work." Allrighty then!

So, I loved all the references to the golden age of cinema and actors. There was quite a bit of research here! While it focuses on some of the dogs that made the movies then (such as Asta from The Thin Man series and Bringing up Baby and Toto from The Wizard of Oz) of course all the human counterparts are also there.

astathinman

In fact I got confused when characters were introduced that weren't movie stars, such as animal trainers. I think at times the author would use first names, and then other times last names so about halfway through I really couldn't keep track of anyone. One of the Private Investigators' names is Guy so I keep wondering who the "Guy" was before I realized that was his name. (At one point, he says he uses "Guy" because his real name was Gary Brandt, but he didn't want people to confuse him for Cary Grant--but I googled it and that wasn't Cary Grant's name anyway?)

bringingupbabydog

Not too long ago I read The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, where there's a quote in one of the short stories about the "curious incident of the dog in the nighttime"--that's repeated here.

There's one scene here that I'm sure I've seen in a Marx Brothers movie.
marxbrotherscrowdedroom

One thing I've never seen in a work of fiction before was the use of dialogue written as in a play, such as:
Babs: blah blah blah
Lockwood: blah blah blah
Babs: blah blah blah
Either the writer is being lazy or editors didn't do their jobs!

Or, instead of a quote from a person in dialogue, the words "her reply: blah blah blah" used.

So, kudos for the great idea and background info on those classic movies...but demerits for too many confusing names, wardrobe changes and plot twists. That finale was really over the top!

A delightful romp through the glitz and glamour of 1940’s Hollywood, wrapped in a cozy mystery. I was kept guessing until the very end. This is a very good start to a new series and I look forward to the next installment. The inclusion of real life Hollywood stars was a treat.
Many thanks to Level Best Books and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m sorry to say I had a hard time getting into this book. There were so many characters I had a hard time following. In theory a cozy mystery set in historic Hollywood sounds so fun. The including of the war and nazis decreased my like of the book as well. This series will just not be for me unfortunately.

This new cozy mystery pays homage to the Sherlock Holmes story "Hound of the Baskervilles". It was interesting to have “stars” from Hollywood “Golden Age” as both the investigator and the client.

It was a bit old Hollywood, with a sprinkle of Sherlock and a dash of Indiana Jones. There was enough mishaps and mayhem to keep my interest and it will be interesting to see where the series is headed from here; will the characters stay the showrunners or will a spotlight on another Holmes adventure take us in a different direction? I’d be happy with either.

Thank you to Level Best Books and Elizabeth Crowens for this ARC that was provided for me to read and review.

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles is an engaging light historical Hollywood PI mystery featuring a female in the lead role written by Elizabeth Crowens. Released 24th March 2024 by Level Best, it's 266 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is a fun light cozy investigation set in 1940s Hollywood. It's full of dognapping, skullduggery, studio politics, and lots and lots of name-dropping 1940s cinema icons. The writing is competent, and the author does a good job with the characters and settings. The dialogue sometimes falls a bit short, with a little too much witty repartee, but it's not egregious, and it doesn't yank the reader out of their suspension of disbelief.

The mystery plot is well engineered and the action driven plot moves along to a satisfying denouement and resolution. It's supposed to the first book in a series featuring the same protagonist, updated publishing info hasn't been released yet.

Three and a half stars. Light, easy to follow, and enjoyable.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This book was difficult to follow. I only read about one third of it and then stopped. It didn’t hold my interest even though I enjoy old films and their actors.

I couldn't quite get excited about this read.
The characters weren't particularly lovable or believable, and while I liked the setting of Hollywood back in the day, it didn't do much to make the plot more exciting.
I finished it, but unfortunately didn't enjoy it.

This story had such a unique and interesting premise: an investigative duo, and the question of whether someone who acts as Sherlock Holmes can do some detective work in reality!

Even though I did not find the characters that engaging, and the writing style wasn't quite my cup of tea (it was heavy on the telling rather than showing in some places, and the narration and dialogue were often jumpy), I still think others would enjoy it. The story was well-researched, but sometimes felt a little too heavy on the Hollywood name-dropping.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eARC. This review contains my honest opinions.

The name and the cover art for this book intrigued me, so I dove right in without knowing much about it.

Right away I was so pleasantly surprised to read that Basil Rathbone was one of the characters, and that was just the beginning…William Powell, Myrna Lloyd, and a slew of actors from the golden era were supporting characters to the protagonist Babs, who is a female private detective. Guy Brandt is her partner, and per tradition, they are barely making it until an important case falls into their lap: Finding Leo, Basil Rathbone’s dog, along with Asta, of The Thin Man movie stardom, and Toto, of The Wizard of Oz fame.

I so enjoyed reading this book, which was full of Hollowood glitz and glamour, intrigue, twists and turns by the minute, Nazis, and missing dogs!

It was so enjoyable to be able to laugh at so many mishaps and funny situations that are described…and there was not a murder in sight!

In the end everything was resolved positively, and the bad guys got their punishment, so I was very satisfied.

Author Elizabeth Crowens did so much research for this book…I tried fact-checking at the beginning and found no contradictory information, so I just let her narrate all the events and historical facts, and enjoy them. At the end she mentions that this is a work of fiction, but that she tried to depict historical facts as best as possible. I congratulate her on doing such an outstanding job of including an immense number of details that added so much to the plot.

I am already looking forward to reading her next book BIE, BYE, BLACKBIRD, featuring Humphrey Bogart and the cast of The Maltese Falcon…it will be a hoot, no doubt.

Thanks to Net Galley and Level best Books for allowing me to read and advance copy of this book in return for a personal review.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

well. i guess i came into it knowing it was mostly a thin man knockoff. doesn't make it any less disappointing. mostly silly and frivolous. time to rewatch after the thin man

I really enjoyed most of this book and was going to rate it a solid 4 stars until they got on the boat. Then the scenes and plot got terribly disjointed.

The female detective Babs and her side-kick Guy are very likable and believable and I appreciated all the movie film references and the research done in writing the book. But the author started to cram too much into the latter part of the book. It was hard to follow how the detectives determined the subsequent facts and it seemed all chance and confusion. The author was trying too hard to be funny - the famous Marx brothers sketch only works visually in the movies!

Maybe the author's second book in this series will be better! I obtained an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

I felt like this book was trying to do too many things at once and It didn't really work for me or maybe it just wasn't to my taste.

This is the first book in a new historical cozy series, and I had a lot of fun as it's witty and fast paced. There's a lot of historical details and I learned a lot about Golden Age Hollywood, the main stars, and the lifestyle.
Sherlock Holmes aka Basil Rathbone dog disappeared and Asta, the Twin Man dog, is missing too. Big rewards are offered for anyone who find them.
Enter Babs Norman and Guy Brandt, a couple of private detectives who badly need money, who will start investigating and trying to find clue about the dogs’ whereabouts. They will discover secrets and something more sinister than a dog missing.
This is a good mystery, unusual and entertaining.
The plot is a bit too complex at times and it alternates very fast parts with some slower and these issues made the storytelling less effective.
As it's the first in a series I'm sure the next one will surely be a very intriguing and the storytelling excellent
Cannot wait to read the next one as this one is compelling, witty and entertaining.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Level Books, Partners in Crime Tours, and Elizabeth Crowens this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is a mystery steeped in the 1940s world of Hollywood. Many of the stars of the day make an appearance and there are many references to movies of the time. Babs is an unusual PI, getting into all kinds of trouble trying to find the missing dogs. She manages to alienate her partner then get him back. She is relentless in her bumbling investigation, however, leading to a suspenseful final confrontation.

The plot contains many layers as more than one mystery is included. The story line wanders a bit between the missing dogs and other possible nefarious deeds of war so the narrative becomes a bit confusing. Readers learn some about animals in movies and how they are trained along with many interesting facts about movies and the books upon which they are based.

Crowens' writing style requires concentration as the dialogue is frequently a bit unusual and the plot movement is sometimes fragmented. I often wondered how a scene fit in to the overall movement of the action. I was impressed with the amount of research that must have done to provide all the references to period people, movies and events.

This is a novel for readers who appreciate an unusual mystery set in the golden time of Hollywood movies. Readers of Sherlock Holmes will also like this historical romp.

I received a complimentary egalley through Partners in Crime Book Tours. My comments are an independent and honest review.

Fan of old classic movies? Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles is a fun, cozy mystery with cameos from some of 1940’s biggest Hollywood stars. It’s nostalgic, humorous, and full of twists. There’re a lot of cute famous dogs too!

After an abusive marriage & dreams of being an actress fizzled, Babs Norman started her own detective agency with her friend Guy Brandt. When she meets Basil Rathbone star of the Sherlock Holmes movies offering a reward for his missing dog, she begs to be put on the case. But, Basil’s dog isn’t the only one missing, Astra from the famous Thin Man movies, Toto from the Wizard of Oz, and others have been dog napped too. It’s up to Babs, Guy, and Basil, taking on his Sherlock Holmes role, to find the suspects.

This book was really quite unique. I love old movies and so it was fun to see so many stars from that era in the story including Myrna Loy, William Powell, Nigel Bruce, Errol Flynn, the Marx Brothers, and even Humphrey Bogart. The author did a fantastic job capturing their on and off screen personalities.

The mystery is far deeper than a simple dog napping. At times, it was a bit confusing with all the storylines going on at once. There are a host of suspects and red herrings. It all comes down to a nail biting conclusion on the Queen Mary.

Definitely a fun, unique start to a new cozy mystery series. It’ll be fun to see what Elizabeth Crowens comes up with next. I received an advanced complimentary copy from the author via Partners in Crime Tours. All opinions are my own and voluntarily provided. 3-3.5 stars

CW: Mild, infrequent swearing & innuendo.

Hollywood 1940's

A delightful start to a new series full of movie stars galore and an engaging premise!

B Norman Agency is struggling for business and Babs and Guy are happy to help find a couple of missing Hollywood dogs! What could be easier?

Entertaining and fun with the name drops, Looking forward to more in this series!

I absolutely loved this book! If you love mysteries and you love old time Hollywood, this book is for you. I love old movies and the stars that made Hollywood great. This book was such a treat. I loved the story and all the background of each character. It was a lovely time spent reading. I highly recommend it and I cannot wait to read the next one. Excellent!!

This was a fun read about a female detective and her partner trying to make it in Hollywood as private detectives. There is an insidious plot seemingly going on of someone kidnapping famous dogs. So they leap into the investigation as they partner up with Basil Rathbone of the Sherlock Holmes movies and William Powell of the Thin Man movies. There is a lot of witty banter and references to other stars of 1940. By the end, lots of stars have made their appearances including the Marx Brothers and Errol Flynn.

The plot gets a bit convoluted and becomes a bit farcical, but I still enjoyed the story and setting and would happily read a second entry in this new series.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.