For all the glitz, glamour, power and fortune the film and greater entertainment industry of Hollywood offered in the 1950's, it also served far more instances of lies, betrayals, pain, and in Mark B. Perry's historical fiction novel, heartbreak. Arriving with naturally good looks and big dreams of stardom, And Introducing Dexter Gaines chronicles Dan Root's life-changing meeting with Hollywood power couple Milford "Milly" Langen and Lillian Sinclair, his persona transformation into future leading man Dexter Gaines, and the harsh consequences that come with a life in the entertainment industry. Historically accurate (at least to my very limited knowledge of the Golden Age of Hollywood), dramatically narrated, and full of fun celebrity appearances, Perry's novel is a solid historical fiction entry paired with a heartbreaking and moving LGBTQ+/Queer storyline. Well plotted and paced, thematically strong, and executed in an entirely tasteful and classy manner (more on that shortly), I thoroughly enjoyed Perry's novel and found it to be a very well-rounded and satisfying read.

I'll be the first to admit that historical fiction and Hollywood's Golden age are not areas that I'm hugely familiar with or naturally gravitate towards. That being said, it almost doesn't matter thanks to Perry's engaging storytelling and narration writing. Apart from the overall plot of Dexter Gaines's breakthrough in Hollywood and eventual drama and romance, the synopsis doesn't really reveal much about what actually happens in the story (in my opinion, partly to its detriment). However immediately from the get-go, the story takes off with a dramatic opening chapter with Dexter Gaines discovering famed Hollywood producer Milford Langen passed away in the present day (90's), then immediately jumping to New Years Eve 1951. Even with no knowledge of what where the story is going, Dexter Gaines is an easy and fun read. Though progressions covering the industry gatekeeping of Hollywood, to adjusting to life in Hollywood, to early film roles and entanglement with professionals, the novel is consistently interesting to read. While the prose is accessible and the story easy enough to follow, there's an underlying sense of quality and finesse evident everywhere. The writing has a perfect balance of narration/internal thoughts to spoken dialogue and the story never feels like its dragging or overwritten. Besides good pacing, I appreciated the gradual build in intensity and drama that sneaks up on you. Most of the novel consists of Dexter reflecting on how exciting his time with Lillian and Milly in the past, yet the advance knowledge that everything ultimately ends in disaster adds weight to some otherwise seemingly casual encounters. As the drama and conflicting feelings ramp up, the story's final 150 pages are completely compelling and the conclusion is satisfying and moving.

Another area that I found particularly well-done is the portrayal of historic Hollywood and the film industry. From the visual descriptions of grandeur and wealth at Milly's estate, to the backlot 20th Century Studios, to the extravagant parties and hushed activities in the shadows, Perry really immerses the reader in the time period that's both slightly romanticized for nostalgic effect yet also entirely stark and realistic in the areas that matter to the story. It's hard to describe in words but there's an inherent sense of class that is layered into every chapter (I loved the descriptions and handling of copious amounts of smoking). An early chapter that features Dexter/Dan walking in on a closed door party of producers discussing the intrusion of the home television set and future TV network on film industry is a perfect example of how detailed the novel's historical elements are.

The story is also full of celebrities that range from producers, to agents, to actors that all feel relatively well-represented and believable. Again this is not an area that I personally have a lot of knowledge in, for example having no experience with Tallulah Bankhead's work, but I've heard other readers praise and love her appearance in the story so I'll defer to others on that. Oddly enough, not knowing who majority of the celebrities are made it interesting whenever original fictional characters or productions are introduced in the story. While reading, I would frequently would Google names and movies to try and figure out who and what was original vs historic, Perry's fictional work is that good and seamless.

As for the original characters, I personally found them to be engrossing to read about and follow. I've read a few other reviewers comment that the three focal characters are unlikable and full of themselves, but this is the entertainment industry and Hollywood, what do you expect? In a field that requires people to be physically beautiful and confident, that's just a mark of appropriate characterization. While the relationships and dynamics between Dexter, Milly and Lillian are the main focus of the story, they're all uniquely handled and quite interesting. Lillian perhaps has one of the more standard and expected characterization of the three, but the crucial chapters towards the end of the story more than make up for that. And although the story and the dual timeline perspective is all narrated from Dexter's point of view, Milly is a fascinating character to read about whose eventual funeral Dexter attends in the 1990's is tragic. Dexter's conflicted and shifting opinions of Milly over the course of the story (both in the past and present) feels natural, appropriate, and is just another element Perry nails.

Besides the obvious film industry element, the bigger story element is the LGBTQ+/Queer storyline told within the constraints of the 1950's. As one can imagine, the 1950's were anything but kind to everything outside of the hetero-normative lifestyle. While reading the story, I will openly admit that I initially wondered if the novel was purposely mislabeled as queer for recent trending marketability considering there was almost no indication or notable content remotely queer. However having read the story, it is 100% there, it just takes some time to get to it at roughly the half-way mark. The delay and lack of queer content early-on is intentional by design, completely for narrative purposes and made its first appearance far more impactful. As one can expect for 1950's Hollywood, themes of forbidden longing, self-hatred, passion vs responsibility, and the fear of the press are all included and developed well. The book's synopsis (and to a lesser extent, my review) purposely don't go into too much detail to avoid giving away crucial plot developments, but what I can say is that Perry's portrayal of queer Hollywood and characters caught in personal dilemmas are excellent. The complications between the three focal characters, the studio industry, friends and strangers, it's really well done. The theme of "if only things were different" is powerfully used and the extent of how much Dexter, Milly, and Lillian's lives are affected by situations out of their control is immense. I would've never expected it based on the synopsis or going into the book at the beginning, but Milly and Lillian's end is heartbreaking and will resonate with any queer or marginalized group, particularly older ones who may unfortunately empathize with their grief and prospective "lost years".

And Introducing Dexter Gaines might be one of the most pleasant surprises and a sleeper hit I ordinarily wouldn't have casually picked to read outside of an ARC platform (and certainly not when it was titled City of Whores originally). While the republished version does improve considerably on the initial version, I do think that there are marketing elements that still don't represent the book as well as they could. The typography and font choice looks a bit unprofessional and cheaply tacked on (especially the cursive font that looks pasted on top of the character image) and the synopsis details of "attempted murder, stardom/survival" feel like a misdirection towards a thriller or a constant Hollywood backstabbing tale (there is betrayal but it's not in the forefront focus). This is a quality, classy, effectively written and moving queer story that deserves attention and a read when it is publicly published. Expertly crafted and paced, complex and nuanced, and most of all engaging to read, I loved this novel and really have little negative things to say about it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I love books set in the old Hollywood era and this book did not disappoint. Loved the characters, the salaciousness, the social climbing, the glamour and an added mystery storyline. There isn’t much nuance and depth of character here but I didn’t mind it but the real celebrity name dropping pulled me out sometimes.

I gotta admit that I did look up a couple of the movies and names mentioned to see if they were fictional or not because I was sold on this world that the author created. Definitely recommend this one.

**Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

I really enjoyed this as a alternate history novel about Old Hollywood, it was everything that I was looking for. It had that the element that I was looking for in this book. I was engaged with the characters and how everything worked in this universe. Mark B. Perry was able to weave a strong story and characters that I wanted.

After finishing this book, I stared at the ceiling for 15 minutes not knowing what to do with myself.

I read “And Introducing Dexter Gaines: A Novel of Old Hollywood” over the course of a day and a half only which is beyond surprising as I am usually a slow reader. It is a real page turner, with a narrative structure alternating between past and present which allows for the craziest revelations throughout the novel.

As someone who does not know anything about old Hollywood, it was fun to look up certain characters or places to figure out reality from fiction. I’ll let real Hollywood experts rate the accuracy of its portrayal in this novel, but to me, the general ambiance was extraordinarily well-done. I came out of this story with multiple great jazz recommendations as well.

I absolutely adored all three main characters which only rendered their story all the more heartbreaking. The last chapters had me tearing up. Milly was a real bastard (keeping it vague to avoid spoilers), but I think he became my favourite character. This poor man was such a product of his time that he ruined his own life and at least two others’ along with it. Anyone reading this for the queer plotline should remember that the “past” sections of this book take place in the early 50s and that said queer plotlines in the 50s rarely have a happy ending.

Please do not let the fact I received an ARC of this book convince you that this review is insincere. My tears were real, believe me, :,)).

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an eARC of this book.