3.5 stars

This launch of the 'Stone and Steele' mysteries, set in old Hollywood, has the discordant detective team working together for the first time.

*****

It's the mid-1930s, and fashion designer/boutique owner Vivian Steele and her banker husband George Ramsay are strolling down Hollywood Boulevard, talking about their upcoming anniversary dinner. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes. George steps into a drugstore for a pack of cigarettes, and is shot dead by a man in black.

The police don't catch the killer, and Vivian makes up her mind to avenge the crime herself. Six months later, Vivian thinks she knows who murdered her husband. However, things aren't as they seem, and the truth involves corruption in the police department and the mayor's office.

After George's death, Vivian moves into the apartment above her boutique, where she lives with her little Boston terrier Bella. Some of Vivian's friends are her boutique assistant Nora - who's learning the ropes of the fashion industry; Vivian's neighbor Maria - who sometimes babysits Bella; and actress Carole Lombard - who's outgoing, witty, and lots of fun.

Vivian agrees to go to Carole Lombard's garden party, despite the fact Carole invited Hollywood playboy Preston Stone. Vivian is angry at Preston for breaking her sister's heart, but Preston is popular in California circles, and Vivian can't avoid him. Still, Vivian is surprised to see Preston again a few days later, at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Vivian is there to meet an anonymous woman who phoned her, claiming to have important information. In the lobby, Vivian sees Preston Stone, and they both appear to be headed for the same hotel room.

When Vivian and Preston get to the hotel room, they find a beautiful woman shot dead. There's also a photograph - taken some time ago - of the woman being cozy with Vivian's (now deceased) husband George. Vivian realizes George was an unfaithful sleazeball, and she wonders if this is connected to his murder.

As things play out, Vivian sees Preston AGAIN shortly afterwards. Vivian receives a ticket to a movie premiere at the Liberty Theatre, which she assumes is for 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' starring her acquaintance Olivia De Haviland. When Vivian gets to the theatre though, the only other person there is Preston Stone. And the movie turns out to be a homemade short in which two characters who look like Vivian and Preston are killed.

By now Vivian and Preston realize someone is threatening them, and they'd better figure out who and why before they end up dead. The twosome agree to investigate together, and both Vivian and Preston 'have skills' and 'know people'. Thus it's pretty clear Vivian is more than a clothing designer and Preston is more than a playboy.

There's plenty of action and suspense in this cozy thriller, including speeding cars, gunplay, abductions, and chicanery of various kinds. Add in a surprise climax, and the book is lots of fun.

I enjoyed this entertaining mystery, which is chock full of Hollywood celebrities from the classical era. Additional characters include cops, politicians, thugs and a sweet 160-pound Saint Bernard called Boris, who likes to swim.

At the end of the book author Gail Meath explains she's a big fan of Carole Lombard, and includes a mini-biography of the actress. Meath also notes the police and mayoral corruption depicted in the novel are based on real events, and she gives examples.

I'm looking forward to further exploits of Steele and Stone.

Thanks to Netgalley, Gail Meath, and BooksGoSocial for a copy of the book.

The Golden Age of Hollywood, 1938. Vivian Steele moved to California to start a new life. She opened a fashion boutique in Beverly Hills, befriended Carole Lombard, the actress, and married a successful banker. But when her husband is murdered, Vivian discovers she isn't the only one hiding a few secrets.

An anonymous phone call lures Vivian to a plush hotel room where she stumbles upon the dead body of a beautiful young actress – her husband’s mistress. To add fuel to the fire, she's not alone.

Preston Stone, Hollywood’s beloved playboy and Vivian's nemesis, is standing beside her. Suspiciously, they part ways only to find themselves alone again at a movie premiere two days later, and the message becomes brutally clear. They’re both the next targets of a cold-blooded killer.

Together, Vivian and Preston are thrown into a deadly race to find a missing collection of valuable coins and stop a vicious killer before they become the next murder victims. But first, they need to stop pointing their fingers at each other.

Loved it. Will recommend to others.

Thanks to NetGalley and Cranberry Pond Publishing for the digital copy of this book; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the first volume in the new Stone and Steele mystery series set in Los Angeles in the late 1930s. It has everything one could want in a cozy murder mystery. So, why did it take me so long to finish this book?

Because this is a first book in a series, there’s a lot of character development. Which is fine, but I wanted the plot to move forward at a faster pace. We get to know Vivian Steele quite well the first half of the book, still trying to put her life back together after her husband’s murder, finding out he was cheating on her, and finding his mistress dead. The police seem to be of no help, so she’s out to find out the truth on her own.

Preston Stone is a peripheral character until about 40% into the book, yet when he arrives on the scene, he takes up all the oxygen in the room (in a good way!) He is Vivian’s nemesis, yet when it’s discovered that both their lives are in danger from the same person/s, they team up to try and get to the bottom of the mystery.

I do have to say that I enjoyed the second half of this Hollywood murder mystery book much more than the first half, but I understand the author’s motivations for establishing the backstory as much as they did. I also loved the fact that the great actress, Carole Lombard, is one of Vivian’s good friends. I’ve seen several of her films, being a bit of a film buff, and by all accounts she was a fabulous friend and person to be around. There are other Hollywood players mentioned throughout the book, which really helped with establishing the time and atmosphere of this 1930s mystery.

I’m looking forward to reading more of this series despite having a bumpy start.

When a book is set in the past, one of the most crucial things to get correct is the langauge used in the dialogue between two characters. There has to be colloquial, mixed with the formal, to establish a natural way of speaking of that era. In Perilous Premiere, set in the 1930s, I'd like more of that snazzy dialogue repartee between characters, some snap into what is a very gripping murder mystery.
It starts right off from the first page, Vivian's husband's murder, in front of her eyes, sets of a chain of events that unleashes a gamut of hidden secrets and exposes lies that changes the life of everyone — Vivian, her shop assistant Nora, Preston an actor, who once dated Vivian's younger sister.
I won't go into details about the characters, they are well defined, have a complete arc in the narrative of the story, the pacing is fine, it does dip sometimes but I guess that would vary from reader to reader.
I found myself not invested in their travails, something about the time period, or maybe the characters — it seemed superficial and I guess that I why I took long to finish this novel.
Good effort!

Set in The Golden Age of Hollywood, 1938, Vivian Steele has a successful fashion boutique in LA, is friends with Carole Lombard, and has an adorable Boston Terrier named Bella. At the start of the story her banker husband is murdered and she spends the next six months to tracking down his murderer, but finds out she's been following the wrong villain. In the process she is lured to a hotel room where she finds her sister's ex, Preston Stone, along with the dead body of her husband's mistress. From there she is thrown into a much larger mystery and must race against the clock and learn to work with Preston to solve multiple murders.

I loved this story! The characters are great and I love that her best friend is Carole Lombard. I truly appreciated getting chapters from both Vivian's and Preston's point of view, which really helped me get on board with Preston pretty quickly. I cannot wait to continue in this series as we will inevitably learn more about Vivian's previous life and who Preston is really working for. I was so invested in her business and her friends and the mystery was very engaging and fun to follow. Oh, and I can't wait to get to see more of Boris, the Saint Bernard!

Thank you NetGalley and the author, Gail Meath, for a free copy of this eARC in return for an honest review.

I was very excited to read this book as I‘m a huge mystery fan. Unfortunately, the entire book felt quite anticlimactic… Even though dangerous and theoretically suspenseful things were happening, there was no build-up and no anticipation.
Frankly, the most interesting aspect was found in the acknowledgments when the author revealed that one of the characters was an actual person from that time and the plot was inspired by sketchy proceedings back then.
I will not be reading the next book in the series…

A fast paced and entertaining historical mystery that kept me hooked and guessing. It's the start of a new series full of promises and potential.
Recommended
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Vivian Steele has opened a fashion boutique which is turning out to be popular. Happily married (or so she thought) until she started investigations into her husbands death. Vivian always felt suspicious about George’s death but it was only after she started her enquiry did she realize his death was very much a planned murder, and that he had had a mistress on the side with whom he was planning to run away with.

At this stage Vivian is disillusioned but when she feels that she is being followed she begins to see that there is much more to George’s death than what meets the eye. Not only the local police but the mayors office is involved in the murder and cover up.

Vivian gets called to a hotel suite by an unknown female and finds the lady dead. There is a lot of incriminating evidence involving Vivian’s husband as well. There is also Preston who arrives on the scene and who from then on directs the action. Vivian doesn’t know who or what to believe in because she has been misled by many. Finding out that the reasons for the cloak and dagger stuff (and the murders) is because a valuable collection of coins has gone missing Vivian now has to protect herself from a gang including the local police who believe she has the coin collection.

The story was quick paced and the characters were wily and quick witted.

What a fun read, historical, mysterious and some fun and quirky characters that I loved. I just couldn't put this book down and as it is the first in a series I just can't wait to see what happens next. This is a book and story that engaged me from the beginning right through to the end and how can you not like Vivian, Carole, Preston and of course Bella and Boris.

This is a book that was so easy to read yet kept me interested throughout. I loved it and will certainly have to wait patiently for the next instalment. How hard will that be?!

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a fun mystery set in the golden age of Hollywood.
Fashion designer and boutique owner Vivian Steele is getting over the murder of her husband and the police are about to catch the killer. However, things don’t go to plan and the presumed murderer is shot dead. Vivian rapidly comes to realise that things aren’t what they seem. She is determined to find out the truth but her investigations keep bringing her into contact with playboy Preston Stone, a man she dislikes intensely.
This was a fast moving and well plotted story that held my attention completely. I loved the cast of characters especially the inclusion of Hollywood stars Carole Lombard and Clark Gable The late 1930s is a favourite period of history for me and I loved the setting and background to this mystery.. The historical detail was excellent and enhanced by the quotes and photos that began each chapter.
The relationship between the two main characters was definitely spiky and the banter between them was amusing. There is obviously attraction between them and it will be interesting to see how this develops in future books.
I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading the next book in the Stone and Steele series. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers, BooksGoSocial, for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the pictures at the starting of the chapters. It was something different than what I’ve usually seen in becomes. The ML being accepting of the fact that the FL is much more experienced was so refreshing to read! Overall the mystery aspect was great and the characters were lovable…. If I had to predict, the crime solving duo could be a potential couple in the future books but that would be quite messy given their history (read the book to find out 😁)

I found this a fun read. A quirky cast of characters with some sass thrown in. Stone & Steele are a skilled investigative team. Such fun to have some of the famous folk of the time, eg Carole Lombard, form an important part of the story

There are some twists and turns with things just not hope they seemed.... This is the first in what could be a very interesting series.

It was 4/5 for me

With thanks to BooksGoSocial and Netgalley for my Advance Reader Copy. The opinions expressed are my own

Lights! Bookmark ready! And action! This awesome mystery series by Gail Meath had me kicking up my historical loving heart and reading and reading and reading! We have our main female character named Vivian who has a designer boutique in Los Angeles! In the 1930s! 💖

Unfortunately prior Vivian's husband was murdered! She ends up taking marriage to her own hands trying to go investigate why this happened. In comes the charismatic playboy Preston! I fell in love immediately! 🌠

When author writes a main male character that steals the heart of the ladies it's a total masterpiece! I am a historical fanatic! And to have actresses like Carole Lombard in this book made me all giddy! 💞

I'm so excited this is the first book in a historical mystery series! There is definitely a cosmic attraction between the characters and I cannot wait to see how it develops on and on! The author did a wonderful job writing a mystery that only keeps the attention of the reader what makes you want to dive in and solve the mystery with the characters! 🍿

Action-packed and addictive! I hope the author writes many many books in this amazing series! 😂

Bravo!

George Ramsey husband to Vivian Stone is shot dead and on 30th April 1938 is the day she believes, that the police, on information received from her, catch the killer. Then she gets a call which sends her to the Beverly Hills Hotel and the discovery of a body. But why is playboy Preston Stone there as well. Is it possible for them to trust each other and work together to find the killer before they strike again.
An entertaining and well-written historical mystery with its likeable and interesting main characters. A good start to this new series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun beginning to a new historical mystery series. In 1930s Los Angeles, Vivian has a design boutique when she’s drawn into a murder mystery plot after her husband is murdered. She ends up investigating with the help of mysterious wealthy playboy, Preston Stone, and a variety of friends including Carol Lombard. Add in a couple of cute dogs to complete the team.

The novel moves fast and kept my interest throughout. I enjoyed the setting, but it did seem strange to follow all these well-to-do people with such little mention of the Great Depression. The unveiling of who the murderer was came as a surprise.

This is clearly meant to be a new series as Vivian and Preston both have mysterious identities that haven’t been explained. And, of course, there is the incipient attraction between them which shall surely build over future books. I look forward to following along with their adventures and finding out what the mystery is about each of them.

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.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Gail Meath for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for A Perilous Premiere coming out November 15, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I’m obsessed with cozy mysteries and old Hollywood, so this book was a perfect combination for me! I thought the writing was really good. I loved the Hollywood quotes and pictures at the beginning of the chapters. The plot was really interesting. I think Vivian and Preston were fun characters and I loved the banter. It was also fun to have Carole in the story. I would definitely read more books by this author!

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy Hollywood mysteries!

A thoroughly entertaining book. I love the historical context. The author has an engaging writing style and the scenes come alive. The characters are interesting and nuanced. The story is well plotted and well-paced. The bottom line is that his is an enjoyable, fun book that I recommend to those that enjoy both light reading and a compelling mystery. I’m looking forward to more Stone & Steele Mysteries.

Thanks to NetGalley, for the eARC. This is my voluntary review.

The premise of the mystery was intriguing:
- a lady lost her husband to an unexplained shooting and would stop at nothing to uncover the mystery of his death, but she stumbles on some surprising details.

- A rich playboy playing detective.

- some very valuable coins gone missing.

I really liked the 1930s vibe, real tidbits about old Hollywood, including real characters like Carole Lomabrad and Clark Gable, and how the villain reveal was quite the surprise.
Bella and Boris are just too cute.

I need to know more about the main character because I didn’t fully connect with them but I enjoyed the plot.

Set in 1930s Hollywood, this mystery feels like reading an old black and white movie. It's fast paced and fun and requires some suspension of disbelief, especially in the early chapters. I don't know enough about Carole Lombard to tell you if her character is a convincing portrayal or not -- a fictional actress could have probably served the same purpose.

The title, Perilous Premiere, is perfect as is hints to a movie and with characters like Carole Lombard and Clark it seems fitting. Vivian moves to Hollywood for a fresh start. She opens a boutique and marries a banker. Life is looking up until her husband is killed in what looks like a random shooting. At the scene is a fellow by the name of Preston Stone. Vivian has a restless feeling that her husband's death was more sinister than a random shooting. As she investigates, she uncovers more secrets about her husband's life. The more she pokes around, she sets her life to be in grave danger. Preston is always showing up at every turn to her dismay. The friction and banter between these characters is worth the read as well as the mystery.

I enjoyed this cozy set in 1930's Hollywood. I read quite a few cozy series, mostly centered around food. The journey to the '30's was a nice departure. The pictures at the beginning of each chapter was a nice touch.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early access.