The first half of this book I found to be a bit slow, and lacking in much action, while it set the scene for the story to follow. It meandered between the Hollywood star Stella Hope, exiled to Ealing’s studios in London for a time for various reasons, and her difficulties there. The other main character is Ginny, renamed Virginia Rose, an aspiring young English actress trying to succeed in Hollywood around the same time. She is altered to fit an image of a Marilyn Monroe- type character, teeth fixed, hair bleached, as well as all the other compulsory classes required to mould her to what the Hollywood producers want her to be, whilst being paid a pittance to live on.
Then the story really begins. It describes all too graphically the seedy, sleazy underbelly of the film industry, long before the time of #MeToo, and the extreme power of the producers and fixers of big Hollywood studios. The young actresses are by contrast, simply cannon fodder for the massive male egos of leading - man types like Max. My heart broke for them all, especially for Ginny.
When the action heats up, it fairly ramps along at pace, and is an amazing story. It’s distressing, heartbreaking, sad, depressing in equal measure, as we follow the script to its inevitable conclusion.
This is the second novel I’ve read by this author, and it’s equally as good as her first book.
She chooses unusual topics to write about, and has clearly done a great deal of research yet again.
I look forward to her next work with interest, as these two novels could not be more different. They are however, equally compelling.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

A light read about a young English starlet seeking fame and fortune and an older, established American actress. Both are caught up in the Hollywood fame machine, where it is men who rule and wield the most power, making careers and breaking them too. There is murder, blackmail, romantic intrigue and a mystery at the heart of this novel.

There is nothing particularly new or groundbreaking, but it was an enjoyable read. It would be a good holiday read for those who enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo or The Silent Patient.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

It’s the 1950’s and the film industry is in full swing. Ginny Watkins, a young girl from London wins a competition and travels to Hollywood to seek her fame and fortune.
Stella Hope, an aging star has been loaned to Ealing Studios following her divorce.
Two women who don’t know each other, but have a common interest - Max Whitman.
Eleni Kyriacou shows us the glitz and glamour as well as the darker side of the film industry.
A good storyline with a great twist at the end, I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

I LOVED Eleni's previous book - The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou - and I was so excited to see a new one and so it had a lot to live up to. It also had an intriguing cover so I was really keen to get stuck in.

This was completely different to Zina Pavlou, which I was a bit concerned about to begin with, as that was such a spectacular novel. But where it does compare is in Eleni's ability to create female characters - strong women, but now always in the physical sense.

Whereas Zina was an out-and-out thriller, this felt more of a historical, golden-era, contemporary novel, with elements of a classic crime mystery.

Eleni does a great job at showing the good and bad bits of fame, especially in Hollywood in the 50s, where women were expected to do things they didn't want to do to ensure they got jobs. It really shows that fame isn't all its cracked up to be.

It flits from Stella's story to Ginny's story and back and forth. This took some getting used to, especially as they're so similar in themes (acting, Hollywood, women, the 50s, glamour, Max...). I was having to keep reminding myself to see who it was talking. But it soon became unnoticeable; yes the themes are similar, but Stella and Ginny have such distinctive voices that it was quite easy to figure out whose story you were in.

Interspersed are some scenes focussed on an unknown individual in somewhere that looks like a mental hospital or suchlike. But we don't know who it is, why she's there, or what's happened. It is these chapters that added the mystery element to the whole story.

Another review said this book reminded them of Jackie Collins books, and I think I'd have to agree. That glamorous side of life, but with the hidden dark and dirty bits underneath.

I found it a little slow to begin with. Obviously she has to set the scene, the background etc. so you will invest in the characters as it goes along so I understand why it needed that time. But I would say if you feel it's a bit slow to begin with, please do continue because it doesn't last long and soon you're stuck in this fascinating glamorous, but dirty world. I took it to bed with me thinking I'd just read a chapter or two, and then I was halfway through, and it had completely grabbed me. And I raced through the second half once it got more thrillery.

I believe this is Eleni's third book, but it's my second one. Authors worry about having books live up to the success of their first novel, and whilst this was very different to her first book, I still think it's a very good book and Eleni is sure to have success going forward, and I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for that third book of hers that passed me by because she is an exceptional storyteller.

Very enjoyable book. Couldn't put it down.
About the dark side of old Hollywood glam.
If you enjoyed the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo you will definitely enjoy this book.

A harrowing story of Hollywood in the golden age. I read an eARC of this book on Net Galley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This book covers challenging content around the experience of female actresses in Hollywood. The notorious casting couch as well as even worse behaviour from men in positions of power. It is sensitively explored but do check content warnings. I thought this was really well done, with a focus on the experience of the characters. The abuse of power is seen multiple times, in different ways. Real historical cases are referenced to highlight the female experience at the time.

We follow two characters, a famous star in her forties who is in London following her divorce. She’s been sent on loan to another studio as her studio isn’t happy with her breaking up their golden couple. The second character is a young British woman who has gone to Hollywood to try to follow an acting career. We see the parallels between an established star, and an up and comer. We see where they have different levels of power, but how they both still are troubled by the inappropriate behaviour of men. How these stories end up intersecting was brilliantly done.

At the core of this book is the power of female relationships. Female friendships bolster the characters so much, allowing them to get things done, overcome challenges and provide strength and support.

This was well-written with interesting characters, a fascinating setting and a powerful message to share.

This was a gripping and glamorous read filled with intrigue. The plot was fun and the characters definitely held a lot of interest. I really liked this one.

Loved this book. A gripping page turner with insights in to the Hollywood of old with its all-powerful studio executives, glamorous leading ladies and handsome leading men that all served to mask a dark underbelly of sexism, misogyny and dirty dealings.
The story is told from different perspectives and the characters are so well depicted that one can’t help but assign to them the personas and faces of actual actors from the past. The notion of “the casting couch”, whilst not especially featured, and the power held by men in those days comes across very powerfully and one can’t help but imagine and feel for what those many young women, in particular, went through in order to pursue their dreams of stardom-manipulated by the studios, made to change their appearances and treated as little more than fodder in a corrupt industry dominated by a few.
I don’t want to give anything away though, as we all know from history, the ending is not always happy and it’s sad to know that some of the events described in the book are true-most definitely not a beautiful way to die- but this is an excellent read and I thoroughly recommend it.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and to the author for her wonderful piece of. work

Eleni Kyriacou weaves a gripping and atmospheric mystery in *A Beautiful Way to Die*, blending noir elements with a vivid sense of time and place. The characters are richly drawn, and the tension builds steadily as secrets unravel. Kyriacou’s prose is elegant yet sharp, capturing both the beauty and the grit of the story's world. A few moments feel slightly drawn out, but overall, it’s a compelling read that keeps you hooked until the end.

This was full of intrigue, but revealed a film industry riddled with narcissism, corruption and depravity. It seems that being a star can get to your head. The plot kept you guessing and had some interesting characters, but the subject matter, an expose of Hollywood excess was not my type of novel of choice.

Two actresses, one an aging star, the other an up-and-coming ingenue, tell the story of their relationship with a manupulative leading man and uncover a darker side to the glitz and glam of 1950s Hollywood. Interesting and entertaining, with an unexpected twist, but overall very twee and surface level in the way it interrogates the realities for women in a male-dominated industry. Not one for me.

Hollywood and London mid-1950s. Young Ginny Watkins, like many girls, dream of pursuing the life of silver screen actresses. Ginny gets the attention of producers during auditions with a whole makeover from blond hair, teeth, and even a name change ; Virginia Rose.
Stella hope has had a successful acting career alongside her husband Max Witman; Hollywood's golden couple. Stella gets sent out to London to work roles, and she starts to realize her career taking a dive as her soon ex-husband starts to take more prominent roles in Hollywood. Ginny gets invited up for dinner by Max in his penthouse. He has promised her leading roles. Stella meets a new makeup artist Maggie on set and Maggie is hired as her personal assistant. Stella starts to receive blackmail letters requesting cash over a secret from her past. Ginny starts to enjoy the high life of social parties and glam. She seems to have hit a stroke of luck until she goes missing one day. what happened to Ginny? Who is after Stella? This was such a page turning thriller! The characters, the Hollywood scene, high stakes, drama... really enjoyed this. Reading this was like watching a classic MGM movie. glam, riches, and fame but also exposes the ugly side many women had to deal with just to make it to the top.

"Girls hungry for fame, and all those men in positions of power."


Thank you, Netgalley and Head of Zeus Publishing, for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Wow, just wow.

I cannot wait to read more titles from Eleni Kyriacou.

Who doesn't love a drama and glamour of a story about one of the world's former biggest movie stars and her (secretly estranged) handsome leading man of a husband. Hollywood royalty. Pure escapism. Lots of twists and turns and hard to put down.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher Head of Zeus for a very enjoyable ARC.

From the author of, ‘the unspeakable acts of Zina Pavlou’ comes another cracker! In a beautiful way to die, we meet Stella Hope, a Hollywood starlet in the 1950s. It soon becomes clear how much corruption went on in Hollywood, ‘the fixers’ and how far one would go to cover it all up.

I love a story based on history and this author did this well, intertwining bits of real stories into the plot. I thought the book had a slow start, I wasn’t sure where it was going until that first twist was revealed and then it took off!! What a fascinating read, I’d highly recommend and take time to read the authors note at the end too!

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this, it’s out 8 May ❤️

It shows what it was like in the 50s for a lot of women actresses in Hollywood. Beautifully written, compelling and engaging would highly recommend this book.

Stella Hope is Hollywood’s biggest female star but has been sent to London following her divorce. Her new make-up artist, Maggie, puts on a brave face as she tries to deal with her own struggles. And aspiring starlet Virginia ‘Ginny’ Rose is discovering Hollywood’s unwritten rules. Connecting them all, leading man Max Whitman, who will do anything to stay on top.

Set in the 1950s, ‘A Beautiful Way to Die’ follows Stella, Maggie and Ginny as they navigate the highs and lows of working as a woman in the film industry, but there is also the voice of a fourth woman, speaking in the first person, from what we glean to be an institution for the mentally unwell. She doesn’t identify herself – not least because her treatment has robbed her of her memory – and so the reader is left to guess at who this person might be. Whilst I enjoyed trying to work out who the woman was, these portions of the novel are also extremely effective at showing the callous, barbaric treatment of so-called ‘hysterical’ women in the 1950s, some locked away for merely being ‘difficult’ – i.e. having the audacity to voice their own opinions or call out harassment.

Indeed, the author questions in her author’s note whether much has changed in Hollywood in the last seventy years, citing Harvey Weinstein and the ‘Me Too’ movement as a key example. I always appreciate when the author shares thought-provoking observations like these, as well as their inspiration for writing the novel and their research.

Though the themes of the novel may be serious, I thoroughly enjoyed the plot and the characters, including those involved in Stella, Maggie and Ginny’s stories, such as the characters of Stan, Cynthia, Jim Brodsky and Mrs Ackerman. The novel is concluded in a perfectly satisfactory way and there is no suggestion of further novels set in the same world, but I’d love to revisit these characters and see what they get up to next!

An extremely enjoyable read, in turn both glitzy and gritty. I haven't read anything by Eleni Kyriacou before, but I am now keen to explore her earlier novels, such as ‘The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou’.

Many thanks to the publishers, and to NetGalley, for the advance copy of this book, on which this review is based.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus Publishing for the advanced e-ARC of this book.

This is the first book I've read from this author and it definitely won't be the last! I was sucked into this story from the very beginning.

It was so well written and I've always been fascinated with 1950's Hollywood and mystery so this was right up my alley.

Really liked the way it was written. At the beginning it was a little hard to keep track of what was happening and why Stella was in London but as you continue with the story it all makes sense. I was really not prepared for the twist at the end and this will stay with me for a long while. Some of the chapters reminded me of the movie Babylon with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Well written; I was able to picture the parties, the "casting couch" , and so much more.

I really enjoyed the author's previous book, "The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou" so I was excited to get an ARC via netgalley. I was not disappointed!

In this book, we were returned to the 1950s, but this time to Hollywood and Ealing studios for the glamour (and seedy underbelly) of 1950's cinema.

I enjoyed the multiple points of view of Ginny, Stella and Maggie as they shared the inner workings of the film industry in both Hollywood and England and hinted at the mystery of what happened at a party on Oscar's Night. The other viewpoint of a woman in an aslyum added to the mystery as it wasn't shared until near the end who she was, so I was intrigued to find out her identity and when in the timeline she was in the asylum as Ginny's story was in 1953 and Stella and Maggie were in 1954.

The characters were well written, as was the plot, as I could really imagine them in my head with events playing out, I was often gripped and didn't want to stop reading.

The author has clearly researched the time period and the film industry on both sides of the Atlantic to make it feel realistic, with nods to real-life crimes and especially in relation to the misogynistic attitudes of film industry men and other areas of the "seedy underbelly".

I loved the muliple twists to the ending, I thought that Stella and Maggie had solved the mystery for there to be a heartbreaking twist as Maggie got to the asylum.

Highly recommended reading, I will be looking forward to the author's next book too.

With thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read.

Beautifully written with fabulous characters #ABeautifulWayToDie was a stunning book which I enjoyed so much.

I was so impressed with how flawlessly written the characters were. I felt as if I knew all of them. I loved Stella’s spunk, Ginny’s naivety and Maggie’s vulnerability. The character of Max, the Hollywood leading man, was so cleverly portrayed and I enjoyed how his flawed character was gradually revealed.

I was so immersed in the story I felt as though I was stepping into 1950s Hollywood and London. I loved all the details in the book especially reading about all the 1950s beauty products and fashion! I loved how the author exposed the dark underbelly of Hollywood and the film industry, intertwining real life cases into the story.

The story was expertly plotted and I did not see any of the twists/ reveals coming!

Thank you so much for my ARC ❤️