I loved this twisty tale of Hollywood in the golden age. The amount of detail James sprinkles throughout her chapters takes the reader right back to the time and place with ease. The characters all shine and are deliciously flawed. The plot twists and turns itself into a pretzel tighter than Veronica Lake's hair in a drill press.. I cannot express how much I enjoyed this novel. If you love The Thin Man, if you think Jack Benny was a genius, if you've ever lovingly flipped through an old issue of Modern Screen magazine, give this book a chance,

Dare I say, I loved this one. Loved! A whodunit set in Hollywood in the 40’s, the banter was witty, the characters were likable and the mystery was perfectly done.

As a fan of classic movies, this had the feel of one of those, just in book form. It felt cozy and the dialogue was well done for that time period. Can’t recommend this one enough!

I'm not always the biggest fan of historical fiction but let me tell you, Sarah James knocked it out of the park!

I love anything that has to do with the glitz and glamour of the classic, old Hollywood era. The cover is amazing. This book will take you back in time and take you to a whole new time.

The mystery itself was delightful and creative, but the real gem was the conversations, characters, banter, dark humor, and jokesThe perfect balance of humor and true emotion and dark, sadistic, and sarcastic humor and content. It was beyond exciting. The pacing was good. Not too slow or too fast I got lost.

This was a fast paced wise-cracking historical mystery set in World War II era Hollywood. Annie Laurence is a playwright who heads west after a New York City relationship goes bad. She is offered a screenwriting contract with a third-rate studio, and falls in with a crowd of movie types loosely based on the likes of Dorothy Parker, Anna May Wong, George Gershwin, and Judy Garland. A member of the “club” is murdered, and we’re off to the races.

This was mostly fun, with an intriguing mystery and some great one-liners. The story lagged toward the end, when the pill popping and historical accuracy both went a bit out of control, and I was left wondering what actually happened. But I had a good time and recommend it to all fans of 1940’s historical mysteries.

Such a great historical mystery set in the Golden days of Hollywood! I hope this continues on as a series! I highly enjoyed it and would recommend it to those who are looking for a different era to try out in historical mysteries!

Join the hollywood set in this queer noir romp which will keep you turning pages as you explore the twisting lives of actors, directors and musicians tied together by complicated histories and that last night at the Hollywood Canteen. This novel is an immersive experience with dynamite dialogue making wartime studio backlots come bursting to life in technicolour.
The cast of characters are all stars selfish stars walking the line between fame and infamy and it is a thrilling time walking the wire with them. Fresh, fun and delicious - just watch out for the coffee you'll be drinking because you can't sleep until you get to the end!

“Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen” is a mystery book by Sarah James.

What I liked about the book:

It really captured the feel of the Hollywood Canteen - meaning the canteen itself. There was some name dropping, but that’s to be expected because the canteen started out as a good effort and became, sadly, a place for stars to be seen - and for Hollywood to pat itself on the back for doing a job for the war effort. However, I honestly believe that Ms. Davis and Mr. Garfield didn’t plan for it to evolve that way when they came up with the idea.

The bitting and bitterness and wittiness of the Algonquin Round Table - portrayed in this book book as the Ambassador’s Club. I’ll never be a huge Dorothy Parker fan, but her one liners were cutting, bitter, and spot on … rather like those of Fiona Farris.

The cover of this book - it’s gorgeous and if I saw it at my library, I’d pick it up for the cover alone.

What was meh:

The pacing - yes, there needed to be build-up … and a fall down … and a savior, but the plot at times moved so slowly toward the direction of first the murder and then again solving said murder.

The Ambassador Group - while the wit was there, so often there was so much bitterness that I had to wonder “why do these people consider themselves friends? Why do they hang out with each other? Maybe they have a different definition of the word ‘friend’?”

Characters - While I had an easy time keeping the female characters, for the most part, separate - the two man men (Vic and Jack) I had problems keeping separate. While the two men did work together, I don’t think that was the only reason why. I wanted something more to the overall relationships in this book as even at the end, I still felt what I knew about each character was rather surface-level interesting. Also, while the main female character followed a couple out to California, I really felt like like the couple she followed could’ve been replaced by a single character. I didn’t care for the couple … separately or together.

The “who done it” - I wasn’t surprised by who was revealed to be the murderer, but I was disappointed because it seemed like such a sad reason to murder someone.

What was not so great:

I was hoping for vague “Thin Man” vibes. Instead I read a book where a woman after one week manages to get herself accepted by a group of friends who have been together for 20 years and they start spilling secrets to her like nobody’s business. That seemed a little bit too unreal for me. Also, this book became a bit too cookie cutter at times - focusing on little things that ended up being red herrings or on the shady side of Hollywood.

For me, this book is about a 3.5 read. I so wanted to enjoy it more than I did.

Who knew that Hollywood in 1943 was so scandalous? You couldn't be who you really wanted to be and fake marriages, morals clauses and homespun values dictated the entertainment industry. It was wartime and movie studios worked diligently to produce wholesome, family movies for the loved ones left behind. There was no room for a secret rendezvous between movie stars or drunken behavior in public.

Hollywood was the mecca for East Coast writers and entertainers and when Annie Laurence was offered a job as a screenwriter, she couldn’t pack her bags fast enough. Her best friends were there and under contract with a different studio and she hoped once they all reconnected, everything would go back to how it once was. Unfortunately, that was not meant to be so Annie made new friends who welcomed her into their secretive group. They dined, drank and danced the night away at clubs throughout Los Angeles, especially the Hollywood Canteen. It was there, late one night, that Annie witnessed a horrifying scene that would change her life forever. Annie, with her background writing murder mysteries, soon began to dig deep into the lives of all parties involved to determine who had the most to lose if their secrets were revealed. I loved following the relationships between Annie and her high society friends while they basked in the glamour of Hollywood. Ms. James certainly added enough twists and turns to her 1940’s murder mystery which kept me guessing until the shocking and surprising ending.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen was a little bit ridiculous, in a Hollywood sort of way. After only a few days,the main character is all of a sudden best friends with a group of people who had known each other for 20 years. I guess that’s perhaps plausible in Hollywood. What’s weird is that in a town where personalities are supposed to be larger than life, the characters in this book are just self deprecating and boring. While there were definitely some funny parts, I often wondered just how these people were friends when all they do is ruthlessly roast each other. Maybe that’s just a Hollywood thing?

This was such a fun ride through Old Hollywood! The author does a wonderful job of making you feel that you are really at the "Hollywood Canteen" and in the 1940s. I also really liked how some of the big names of the day were incorporated into the setting/story. I felt some aspects were really unbelievable, like how Annie became best friends with the group almost instantly, essp when the group has known each other for years. I also found the cattiness and backstabbing at times annoying...but Hollywood. There were a lot of twists and turns I did not see coming and which kept me guessing who the actual culprit was. Overall, a fun, fast paced, fun read.

A fantastic mystery filled with the delights and glamour of old Hollywood, this is one of my favorites I've read so far this year!

This was a really good historical mystery. It kept me interested. The Characters were awesome and the storyline was good,

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James is a captivating historical mystery set in 1943 Hollywood. Annie Laurence, a murder mystery playwright, joins the Ambassador's Club to uncover the truth behind a film critic's murder. This mesmerizing book weaves real places and characters, keeping readers hooked with its secrets and intrigue. It's a must-read for fans of historical mysteries. This advanced copy from NetGalley was a fantastic experience.

Who has two thumbs and has a girl crush on the cover of “Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen”

That would be meeeeeeee.

I am also a crazy, slightly obsessed fan of Sarah James. I mean who could really blame me, am I right or am I right ?

This book will take you back in time and teleport you to a whole new era. I hung on every word. I am literally going wild hoping Sarah James is writing her next book. I have a craving that can only be satisfied by THIS author.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen is one hell of a drama filled ride. Talk about an instant addiction, once you pick this book up you will not be able to put it down so make sure you clear your schedule.

Teaser :

Perhaps the best place in 1943 Hollywood to see the stars is the Hollywood Canteen, a club for servicemen staffed exclusively by those in show business. Murder mystery playwright Annie Laurence, new in town after a devastating breakup, definitely hopes to rub elbows with the right stars. Maybe then she can get her movie made.

But Hollywood proves to be more than tinsel and glamour. When despised film critic Fiona Farris is found dead in the Canteen kitchen, Annie realizes any one of the Canteen's luminous volunteers could be guilty of the crime. To catch the killer, Annie falls in with Fiona's friends, a bitter and cynical group—each as uniquely unhappy in their life and career as Annie is in hers—that call themselves the Ambassador's Club.

Solving a murder in real life, it turns out, is a lot harder than writing one for the stage. And by involving herself in the secrets and lies of the Ambassador's Club, Annie just might have put a target on her own back.

Sarah James brings us a classic historical fiction murder mystery set in Hollywood during WWIi. A fun engaging read, full of wit, snarky asides (and characters too).

Annie Lawrence is a successful playwright in New York critiqued by the one and only Fiona Farris, whose life is upended when her lovers - actors - up their things and move for their career to Hollywood. After much wallowing , Annie wins a job script writing with Pacific Pictures and like others at the studio volunteers at the Hollywood Canteen.

This gives her the chance to finagle her way into friendship with Fiona Farris and her friends - the drunken and acerbic ambassadors club. Mere weeks later Fiona is poisoned and thus begins the mystery with Annie as a key suspect…

Some of the plot constructs are a little convenient - but totally in genre. This is a story that won’t disappoint anyone who likes a murder mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the ARC.

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James. This is a classic murder/mystery, historical fiction, set in glamorous Hollywood in the 1940's.
If you like quirky characters and classic whodunit, this is the book for you. Ms. James did a great job of building characters that you would love to hate.

Set in 1943 Hollywood, Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen is a wonderful historical mystery. I loved the use of real places and characters, which added to the backdrop and mood of the story. I was quickly captivated by both Annie Laurence and the Ambassador's Club, a group Annie quickly becomes part of due to their shared disillusionment with their careers. The mystery set up that kept me guessing and all of our suspects seem to have a secret or two they wanted to keep hidden. The ending and reveal are satisfying. Historical Mystery readers will enjoy this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcesbooks Landmark for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Annie Laurence has received mild success as a playwriter in 1943 New York City but also has a secretive love life if revealed would ruin her career. (No spoilers!). When she hits career rock bottom, an out-of-the-blue job offer comes from Hollywood to write for films. With nothing to lose, Annie migrates west only to land in a cuthroat industry with no mercy. Annie meets a wisecracking group who drink and talk trash about everyone. Leading the pack is Fiona Farris, a spiteful gossip columnist. Everyone in Hollywood volunteers at the famous Hollywood Canteen to be seen and support the troops heading to war. When Fiona is murdered in the Canteen kitchen, Annie and her goup of friends all become suspects. Lots of cameos of famous actors enhance this story and Annie is a likeable character caught up in extreme controversy.

OMG! So good from the first page to the last. It takes you back to old Hollywood and uncovers secrets that we never could have imagined. An incrediblw take on a murder mystery.
Would highly recommend this book. This was such a great read!