I love reading about the 'Golden Age of Hollywood' and the darker layers beneath the glitz and glam exterior. The way women are treated by the men and any woman who doesn't shut up and do exactly as she's told is labelled 'difficult' and will blacklisted from Hollywood. This book goes a little bit further as it touches on the topic of Hollywood's 'fixers', people, usually men, who will do anything to protect their stars.
The actual event that takes place during the book had me in a chokehold, I needed to know what really happened so I flew through this in 24 hours. I sort of guessed at the culprits but I could never have guessed the few final twists and so I was jaw to the floor by the end. It's utterly heartbreaking but I'm glad the women of this era are getting a voice now.
I really enjoyed the two different perspectives and how they were linked. There are also chapters from the POV of a nameless girl and those added more mystery.
Basically, this book is incredible and Eleni Kyriacou's writing is as always, beautiful.

'Hollywood is a place where they'll pay a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul' - Marilyn Monroe.

A Beautiful Way to Die by Eleni Kyriacos is a pacy, razor-sharp thriller that peels back the glamorous façade of 1950s Hollywood and Ealing Studios to reveal a world just as corrupt, but on a smaller, more insidious scale.

Kyriacos contrasts the excess and power plays of Hollywood with the quieter yet equally treacherous workings of the British film industry. The characters are richly drawn, with relationships that shift and unravel in fascinating ways. Ginny Watkins and Stella Hope are compelling leads, caught in a tangled web of ambition, betrayal, and survival. The narrative weaves their stories together, with moments of brilliant misdirection that build toward surprising twists and a satisfying conclusion.

This novel is a must-read for fans of classic Hollywood noir, historical thrillers, and stories that explore the darker side of fame. With its intoxicating atmosphere and sharp storytelling, A Beautiful Way to Die is as seductive as the world it portrays—glittering on the surface but filled with danger just beneath.

This book is fantastic!
I totally escaped to Hollywood in the 50’s.
The story had me gripped from the start and as the story unfolds the characters just take on so many different dimensions. The more you read the deeper you fall into this amazing story and what you want to happen.

I thought the main characters were just so well written, I felt connected to each of them and wanted so much to keep reading and finding out more about this deeply engaging tale of scandal, hope and sacrifice.

Absolutely 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I couldn’t put it down and I’m devastated now it’s over.

Can’t wait to read more from this author

🎬💋 A Beautiful Way To Die by Eleni Kyriakou 💋🎬
Genre: Women's Fiction / Mystery / Noir Fiction
Length: 416 pages
Timelines: 2 that eventually converge
Pub Date: May 8, 2025 (Kindle), July 22 (hardback)
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus Publishing for the advanced e-ARC of this book. The opinions stated here are solely my own.

Summary (copied from Amazon):
PLAY THEIR GAME
Hollywood, 1953. Young actress Ginny Watkins is turning heads. Even the legendary – and married – actor Max Whitman can't resist the allure of the hottest new starlet. He promises Ginny the world, in return for the right favour.

DO WHAT THEY SAY
London, 1954. Stella Hope, once the most famous actress in Hollywood, has been ousted to Ealing Studios after her divorce from the powerful Max. Just as she accepts her fate, she receives a letter, blackmailing her for a mistake she made many years ago.

OR THEY'LL BURY YOU
Two women on either side of stardom find themselves in the orbit of the same beguiling man. And one night, in the shadows of a glamorous Oscars afterparty, their lives are changed forever…

Opinion:
Wow! I haven't read a book that took place in the 1950s in quite awhile and it was so intriguing!! This book was shocking in so many ways! It truly highlighted the difficult and traumatic path of aspiring female actresses in Hollywood as they fought to showcase their talents amongst the often misogynistic male producers and leading actors of the industry. The things that these women had to go through to get their big break were absolutely disgusting at times and it made you truly feel for their paths. The author references many of the actress true crime mysteries of the time and it was interesting to read this story from the different women's perspectives. Stella, the seasoned and successful actress, began as such an egotistical character, but I ended up loving how strong she was in the end and how she was determined to help Maggie and find her own real peace. I also loved the hopeful starlet, Ginny, as she had such a kind heart, though her naivety became her downfall. Excellent book and I will definitely read more by this author!

Early 1950's. Meet Ginny, a starting acress, in Hollywood, Los Angeles and Stella, a seasoned actress, in Ealing Studios, London. They share some mutual friends but live their seperate lives on either side of the Atlantic.
I enjoyed following the women on their journey in an industry ruled by men. The good, the bad, the ugly, our ladies have a lot to deal with. They move from classes, auditions and jobs to friends, parties and award shows. All at great pace.
But in between these entertaining chapters runs another story, a darker more sinister part where glamour takes on a whole new meaning.
The two parts keep the reader engaged until the very end. A monster of a twist turns both worlds upside down and finally connects Ginny and Stella.
A very well crafted and relatable read with a great cast of characters.

Thank you Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the ARC

This was such a great book! Set in the 1950s Hollywood glam that also tell you the dark side of this industry. Men that take advantage of young girls trying to get their dreams come true, and how the girls are struggling. It really broke my heart to see how these men had such an influence and were the make or break you. If you did not agree you would be labeled as "difficult" and your career would be over and you would been thrown out. This book was well written and it felt realistic. This author did such a great job with her research and I could almost feel like I was there as well. I did not see the twists and this book kept me hooked to the last page.

A cracking good story of Hollywood and just what people will do to succeed. There are sort of three separate story lines that don’t come together until later in the book but there are twists and shocks and glamorous parties and movie moguls and- what’s not to like?

Hollywood's golden age was perfect on the silver screen, but behind the scenes, a conspiracy of excess and abuse reigned, with "fixers" hired to keep stars' images light and rid the workplace of those who might cause trouble. In this brilliantly readable novel, Eleni Kyriacou brings the excess of 50s Hollywood to life in all its sinful glory.

When aspiring Hollywood actress, Ginny, meets one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, they begin an affair in which he promises her the world. But she doesn't realise the price he's willing to ask or the demons he hides even in his most vulnerable moments. What price will she pay for her dreams?

A year later, on the other side of the Atlantic, veteran actress, Stella Hope, is working in Ealing Studios as she waits for a divorce from her film star husband. But when she recieves blackmail photos from her youth, she is forced to accept a mistake she made many years ago and tries to atone for this by helping a woman to find her daughter, who was last seen heading to live out her dreams in Hollywood...

A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO DIE tells these women's stories with empathy, clarity and an undertone of righteous anger at a system that both worships and punishes women for being innocent and knowledgeable, and that chews up lives without a second thought. As much as we think we know how these stories will intersect, Kyriacou has such control over the reader and her story that there are some revelations that truly sting like a left hook in a boxing pic, and the final chapters have a haunting terror and beauty that captures the readers' emotions wonderfully. It's a stunner of a novel, a riveting portrait of the ugliness of a beautiful age, and one that will appeal to movie buffs and thriller readers alike. Absolutely wonderful stuff.

I absolutely adored Eleni Kyriacou’s last novel, The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou, so I could not believe my luck when I was given access to A Beautiful Way to Die ahead of its publication in May.

It did not betray my expectations. The author has used her substantial skills to research the appallingly widespread abuse of young actress’s hopes and dreams under the studio system that ruled Hollywood in the 1930s-1950s. There’s a brilliant note at the end about several of the real-life crimes on which she based incidents in this novel, and I’ll be following some of her reading and watching suggestions.

If this interests you, do make sure you read the novel first to avoid spoilers. Although Ginny Watkins / Virginia Rose is a character invented by Kyriacou, what happens to her is a composite of the very real horrible things that happened to real people, and Kyriacou acknowledges them with a great deal of respect.

I know this novel is being marketed as being in the same setting as Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and as a big fan of TJR’s I can say that the comparison is very fair - it’s set in the same world and written just as well.

I would recommend this novel to anyone. Trigger warnings, obviously, for domestic violence, coercive control, and violent death. But worth reading if you can, because none of the horrible things are gratuitous - this novel is entertaining AND educational, ripping away any rose-tinted glasses about the glamour of classic Hollywood.

I absolutely loved this book. It's set in the early 1950s. It's based on true crimes and scandals in Hollywood.
Ginny is a new to the business actress who falls in love with Max, a major star. Stella is a major star too who was once wed to Max. Stan is a producer, a man who gets things done and gets things covered up. Maggie comes to Stella as a makeup artist and they become friends. Maggie is looking for her daughter Ginny.
What they find out is how corrupt Hollywood can be. These strong women go through so much but still shine in the end.
I'd definitely recommend this book.

A Beautiful Way to Die is a tantalizing and gripping dive into the underbelly of Hollywood's golden age, and Eleni Kyriacou crafts a tale brimming with intrigue, secrets, and betrayal. Set against the glitz and glamour of 1950s Hollywood and London, the novel follows two women, Ginny Watkins and Stella Hope, as they navigate fame, manipulation and revenge.

Ginny, a rising starlet, is seduced by both the allure of fame and the promises of a powerful actor, Max Whitman. Meanwhile, Stella, a former Hollywood darling whose life is now in decline, is blackmailed by the ghosts of her past. Their intertwined destinies form the backbone of a story that explores the cost of success and the price of silencing one's secrets.

The novel's pacing is sharp, and the dual narrative structure—switching between Ginny and Stella—creates a compelling push-pull between the intoxicating highs of fame and the devastating lows that often follow. The writing is vivid and evocative, drawing readers into a world where the bright lights of stardom can just as easily burn you as they can illuminate you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for an advanced copy in exchange for my review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This is a gripping and thrilling read and a damning expose of the horror behind the glamour of Old Hollywood. The plot is super engaging and holds my attention the entire time.

10/10 recommended!

A thrilling mystery through the eyes of a Hollywood starlet and other women working in the industry, all within the backdrop of the Golden Age of Hollywood. I thought I knew where this story was going, and even at that point I so enjoyed the characters and plot that I didn't mind thinking the plot was predictable. It didn't exactly go where I had expected, in a good way, leaving me pleasantly surprised. Highly recommend!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7344157845

A fun holiday read - glamour, scandal, Hollywood, a murder and plot twists aplenty. Not sure I'll remember it in six months' time but definitely a perfect book to pick up on the plane or by the pool.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

A great story about Ginny hoping to make it as a film star, but very sad. There were a few twists along the way. A stark reminder of how normal people got sucked into the film studios machine in the 1950's.

The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou was dark and gripping read and Eleni Kyriacou’s follow up is equally gripping but exploring an entirely different historical focus.

A Beautiful Way to Die takes the reader into the dark, manipulative and misogynistic world of 1950s movie land.

This is a story that is divided between Hollywood and Ealing studios following two different paths-Virginia Rose , a young aspiring actress who has won the opportunity to go to Hollywood and finds the path to success is certainly not what she anticipated - and Stella Hope , a former Hollywood star who has been sidelined/ loaned to Ealing studios following an incident with her husband the leading star of the time Max Whitman.

Using research of the abuse suffered by actresses of the time, this is a precursor to the #metoo era of recent years and creates parallel tales showing that regardless of success the abuse suffered by women was endless.

It is the power within the systems to accept hide crimes all in the name of male success that stings sharpest.
Eleni Kyriacou has created a fascinating story and the era is captured pitch perfectly .. the sense of the movie world and period is so strong that the perceived imagery whilst reading veered towards black and white like period films

This is cleverly plotted with some unexpected twists - the denouement may be satisfactory but it’s still taking decades to end the patriarchal violent power of a male dominated industry

Fascinating, thought-provoking and tautly constructed. This should be another winner -highly recommended
The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou was dark and gripping read and Eleni Kyriacou’s follow up is equally gripping but exploring an entirely different historical focus.

A Beautiful Way to Die takes the reader into the dark, manipulative and misogynistic world of 1950s movie land.

This is a story that is divided between Hollywood and Ealing studios following two different paths-Virginia Rose , a young aspiring actress who has won the opportunity to go to Hollywood and finds the path to success is certainly not what she anticipated - and Stella Hope , a former Hollywood star who has been sidelined/ loaned to Ealing studios following an incident with her husband the leading star of the time Max Whitman.

Using research of the abuse suffered by actresses of the time, this is a precursor to the #metoo era of recent years and creates parallel tales showing that regardless of success the abuse suffered by women was endless.

It is the power within the systems to accept hide crimes all in the name of male success that stings sharpest.
Eleni Kyriacou has created a fascinating story and the era is captured pitch perfectly .. the sense of the movie world and period is so strong that the perceived imagery whilst reading veered towards black and white like period films

This is cleverly plotted with some unexpected twists - the denouement may be satisfactory but it’s still taken decades to end the patriarchal violent power of a male dominated industry

Fascinating, thought-provoking and tautly constructed. This should be another winner -highly recommended

What a book! So beautifully written it held my attention from the first few pages. I couldn’t stop reading, wanting to find out what happened next. I can not recommend this highly enough, especially if you are interested in Hollywood in the 1950s but really for anyone who loves a strong female oriented story.

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for this ARC.

I first heard of this novel from the author, and I was drawn to it immediately, as I find Old Hollywood so fascinating.

In A Beautiful Way to Die, we’re thrust into the spotlight of Hollywood in the 50s. Glamorous starlets, charismatic men and bustling movie sets. Only, there’s a dark underbelly to this world, as three women - Stella, Maggie and Ginny - know all too well.

I flew through this book in a couple of hours - the pacing was spot on and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The writing was beautiful.

It actually felt very reminiscent of the game LA Noir, as we raced to uncover what happened to the characters.

The story itself is so tragic and twisty, and I felt for each of the women deeply. The author did a fantastic job of exploring old Hollywood, and the book is clearly extremely well researched.

A really atmospheric story. It’s a captivating, dark read that is at times difficult, yet, as demonstrated by the stories in the author’s end notes, so prevalent in those days and even recent times.

I loved this story and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it!

This is not normally the type of book I would request or read but I flew through this one. Beautiful story and beautiful writing!

Highly recommended

A story which kept me guessing! This fast-paced thriller follows the stories of Ginny, Stella & Maggie and the dark side of Hollywood. I was gripped from the start, and when I thought I’d figured out the twists another was thrown in. Excellent, exciting read, I would happily recommend!