Dollycas's Thoughts 

Justine Turner is a world-famous biographer of Hollywood stars. Charlotte Donovan is her assistant. Together they are working on a biography of Jean Harlow. She was the “Original Blonde Bombshell” and the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s. Charlotte is used to being summoned by her boss so her requesting an emergency meeting at Layla's Tea Room was not a surprise. The meeting starts out well but soon Justine is complaining about being warm. It is then Charlotte notices how pale her boss is. She leaves the booth to get the woman a cool towel but when she returns to the table Justine appears to be asleep but the waiter soon informs Charlotte that she has passed away.

In the aftermath, Charlotte tries to tie up loose ends and the publisher has asked her to finish the Harlow biography as fast as she can. She loved to do that, but a Harlow look-alike appears to be stalking her. She's being threatened online too. NYPD Sergeant Den Brophy is on the case but he is going to need Charlotte's help to dig into Justine's life to figure out who would want to kill her and why. He is also going to have to keep her safe.

_____

Charlotte is a complex individual. While her boss lived in New York, she lives and does most of her work on Cloister Island. She lives with her alcoholic mother who falls off the wagon often. Then her grandmother steps in to help. Charlotte also suffers from Lyme Disease and she has some brutal flare-ups. Her boss Justine was very supportive and they worked around all the effects of the disease.

Charlotte grew up with her best friend Kate on Cloister Island but back then her name was "Karl". Her family did not support her transition so she moved away and made a life in New York. It is almost like Kate and Charlotte are connected at the hip when she is in the city. Hardly a day goes by when they are not together. We also meet Sergeant Den Brophy, "an Irish cop with a Brooklyn accent" with "eyes as blue as a jay's wings". Charlotte does have a thing for cops and this one appears to be very interested in her. All of the characters in this story have depth and feel true to life.

Charlotte thought she knew her boss so well but she found out that wasn't the case as she tried to come up with a list of suspects. The woman had a lot of secrets. Charlotte is caught off balance by the woman she sees everywhere who looks just like Jean Harlow. She knows she has to have something to do with the murder. A surprising discovery turns the tables in a new direction confuses Charlotte's thinking even more and puts her in danger too.

The mystery was twisty and complicated. I enjoyed the way Charlotte shared most of the information she gathered right away with Den. He was very open with her too. Their attraction continues to grow too but they vow to hold off until the case is closed. The case does start to go cold but an idea not supported by everyone sets up a fantastic showdown and reveal.  I didn't realize I was holding my breath for a few seconds as one last piece of drama played out. Like many in the story, I was kept guessing until the very end.


I didn't know much about Jean Harlow but I remember watching some of her movies. The author includes an afterward where she shares some interesting facts and explains that the biographical information about Harlow is accurate but that she added some fictional events to the woman's life in the story. The story piqued my interest and I did find myself on Wikipedia to read even more about her. It is sad that she died so young.

The Jean Harlow Bombshell was a bombshell of a story. It was cleverly written and I was very entertained. Charlotte Donovan is unique and genuine and I want to know what happens next for her.  Book 2 in this series, The Audrey Hepburn Heist has been added to my wish list and a recent interview with the author says that she has almost completed Book 3, “Hedy Lamarr’s Lost Ecstasy”.

This book took me quite some time to get into. I will definitely read more books from the author in the future. I like old Hollywood
I am a huge Jean Harlow fan, but this one took me a little bit a time like I stated above to get into, but I do recommend giving it a chance.

The Jean Harlow Bombshell has enough twists and turns to keep you entertained until the very end.

Here we meet Justin a world-famous biographer of Hollywood stars. She's also Charlotte Donovan's overbearing boss. So it comes as no surprise to Charlotte when Justine requests an emergency meeting related to her latest in-progress biography. It is a surprise, though, when Justine up and dies before their urgent discussion can begin.

In the wake of such a tragedy, all Charlotte wants to do is finish the Jean Harlow biography that Justine had started. Instead, she finds herself in grave danger—stalked both online and in person by a drop-dead Jean Harlow look-alike. Together with police sergeant Den Brophy, Charlotte uncovers shocking revelations. But will these revelations be enough to catch the killer?

The premise of the book is great and the author really delivers. Great read. Highly recommended. .

This book was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the characters and the story was very well planned and executed. The mixture of real and fictional characters was very well done. Avery good book

The Jean Harlow Bombshell is a great book! I really love the unusual plot and how much the author was able to bring Jean Harlow alive! Jean Harlow is one of my favorite old time actresses. I really did think this was a good mystery and Mollie did a great job with her research when she wrote this.

I would definitely read this again and I recommend it! If you love mysteries and a good story of the past, give this one a read!

Thank you to Midnight Ink and NetGalley for this ARC.

Charlotte Donovan is an excellent researcher dealing with Lyme disease and a dysfunctional family that she avoids. She also has a habit of dating cops. Police sergeant Den Brophy is the investigating officer and provides a challenge to Charlotte's will power because she promised to stay on a police dating diet. He makes no secret of his growing affection for her. There are a few other characters, but mainly these two.

Although the story takes place in modern New York, the research is brought alive with a mystery surrounding Harlow's sudden illness and death, effectively bringing Hollywood's golden age into the story as a setting too.

The plot seemed a simple premise, but the added hint of there being foul play in Harlow's death and then perhaps playing a role in the current death of the biographer was a twist. The pacing lagged at times, but my desire to see how it would work out kept me reading.

The climax had some good thrills, but that was the only time I really felt some immediacy and eminent danger. The Harlow look-alike sightings seemed more an anomaly rather than something sinister.

While I appreciated the diversity of having a sleuth who is dealing with Lyme disease, sometimes that took the focus away from the mystery and created problems for Charlotte that were outside the story. In one chapter she is dealing with symptoms and then we see her investigating without the handicap of her illness in the next chapter. That may work for some readers, but for me it pulled me out of the story too much.

I really liked the details of Harlow's turbulent celebrity and pre-Hollywood life. The killer was a surprise and made me read up on her death myself. I am looking forward to the next book which I hope to see the plot better developed because it is a great premise.

Rating: Good - A fun read with minor flaws, good but not stellar.

A thrilling beginning to A Classic Star Biography Mystery series! It is clearly evident that the author researched her famous subject but put such an interesting spin on old Hollywood stories that it made me want to pick up a real Jean Harlow biography and learn more about the star. So many twists and turns, you will be kept guessing to the very end. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series!

Princess Fuzzypants here: I really liked the premise of the book. A famous biographer of the old time stars is murdered as she is writing a biography of Jean Harlow. It falls to her assistant, Charlotte, to complete the project and find the person who murdered Justine and the Harlow lookalike who seems to be following Charlotte. Everyone thinks Jean Harlow’s life was a fairly open book but there is something that someone wants to keep hidden and is quite willing to kill to do it. Charlotte herself is attacked so the killer is still out there.
Charlotte is a fascinating character. She suffers from Lyme Disease which impacts her health in some pretty serious ways. I had no idea of the long term effects of the disease so that added an element to the story. The tragically short life of Harlow is interesting too. The author is actually related to the actress which makes the story both factual and fictional more compelling. It was a good story with insights into some complicated social issues. It added to the twists and turns.
My only issue might have been how confusing the plot was just before the final reveal. It may have been intentional. It didn’t help me in sorting things out. Still I can happily give it four purrs and two paws up.

Charlotte Donovan works as an assistant to a best selling author of movie star biographies. It is a good job for her as she suffers from Lyme's Disease and that makes work a challenge. Living on Cloister Island and only going into New York City when necessary, Charlotte hopes to one day write her own books. She never imagined that it would happen like this. Her boss, Justine Turner, calls her, asking her to meet with her in a secluded cafe. When Charlotte arrives, Justine says she has something important to talk to her about concerning their work on a biography of Jean Harlow, the Blond Bombshell who died at the very young age of 26. The kooks are out in force but before any details are disclosed, Justine dies right in front of Charlotte. As the police start to investigate, she decides that she will go to Justine's apartment and try to make sense of what has happened. One thing leads to another and she is working to complete the book while at the same time investigating the murder and not becoming the next victim.
I didn't feel like the mystery itself was as strong as it could have been and Charlotte was, at times, a bit annoying. The constant references to her having Lyme Disease had me tuning that out after the fifth or sixth time it was mentioned. The story of Jean Harlow was the main draw for me and, overall, I enjoyed the mystery, enough that I would read the next in the series. Charlotte as a character shows promise.
My thanks to the publisher Midnight Ink and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Excellent mystery, with a fantastic and unusual plot, well written and with great characters. There are a couple of things that don't add up, but the rest is so good it's forgiven.

While I had heard of Jean Harlow, I was not familiar with her life. Her career did not last very long as she died in her 20s. This book uses her as the basis for the mystery and activities, but it is so much more. I enjoyed getting to know Charlotte with her health issues and the policeman on the case. An engaging and interesting mystery.

Harlow's Secrets Cozy Mystery
I really enjoyed this story. This is a contemporary mystery that looks at secrets from the life of Jean Harlow. It is filled with private clubs, Art-Deco buildings, and a romance. Transgender people play major roles in this mystery. This could lead into a very interesting series! I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest opinion.

The Jean Harlow Bombshell is the first book in the Classic Star Biography Mystery Book series by Mollie Cox Bryan.

Charlotte Donovan is an assistant to Justine Turner, who writes pop-biographies of Hollywood stars. Justine is successful, admired and, sometimes, a tyrant. But, Charlotte enjoys working for her as a research assistant and all-around gal Friday. When Justine dies unexpectedly, Charlotte is devastated. When the investigation into her death points to murder, she is determined to help solve the mystery.

I love the premise of this book - old Hollywood, glamour, mystery. It sounded like a winner for sure. But, as much as I tried to like it, I just couldn’t. The whole story felt clumsy to me. Backstories seemed to be inserted somewhat randomly and felt awkward. The story often moved slowly and the characters were not very believable. Charlotte, in particular, has Lyme disease and this was mentioned now and then, even though it seemed fairly irrelevant. She is also obsessed with policeman and every one of them she meets is sized up as a bed partner. Her shallowness did not add to the story at all.

I still like the “bones” of this book. I hope the author can give her characters more substance in the future and rely less on clichés. And, at the same time, make the story line flow a little better.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

I really like Molly Cox Bryant as an author. In my opinion, this is not a cozy mystery. This first installment in the series is good but gets sluggish in the middle. How many times must I be told that the main character has Lyme’s Disease?

I liked learning a lot about Jean Harlow and I found it interesting. This is a promising start to a new series.
Charlotte Donovan wants to be a writer. She works as assistant to Justine Turner, biographer to the stars. Justine is killed in front of Charlotte. Charlotte is determined to finish the biography of Jean Harlow and figure out who killed her boss.

Charlotte Donovan is an assistant to a biographer to the stars, Justine Turner. Charlotte has many issues but is a great researcher. While meeting Justine at a tearoom, Justine dies suddenly. Charlotte is left holding the ball, cleaning out Justine’s home, finishing the novel, and dealing with a stalker.

I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t want to put the book down. I see a lot of criticism about the mystery not really being about the murder. I don’t think this is a bad thing. Great book.

Charlotte Donovan is a researcher and executive assistant to a writer who specializes in celebrity biographies, mostly from the Golden Age of Hollywood. She's currently working on one about Jean Harlow, a 1930's platinum blonde who died tragically at the age of 26. When Charlotte goes to a local tearoom to meet her employer, Justine Taylor, it's only a short time before Justine dies in front of her.

Now Charlotte has been given the job of finishing the biography, but also cleaning Justine's apartment, and when she finds out Justine was murdered, she decides to find out who killed her and why. But when potential murderers start coming out of the woodwork, and it's apparent that whoever killed Justine is now after her, the stakes have been raised, and with the help of a handsome police officer and her best friend Kate, Charlotte will have to dig deep to find out the truth...

I wanted to read this book because I am a huge classic movie fan. So much so, I have hundreds of biographies from stars of the Golden Age, and thousands of classic films from the silent era to the 1960's. I figured this would be tailor-made for me. After all, a book about Jean Harlow and a lookalike? What's not to like? Well, this book, apparently.

The following is hidden in a spoiler, and I have hidden it with a note telling people not to read it if they have not read the book as it lists several spoilers within and I do not want to ruin the book for them:

First off, the author is a writer of cozy mysteries, so you pretty much are thinking you know what to expect. This book is nothing like any of the others - as an example, there's quite a bit of foul language throughout (not that it bothers me, but I more expect to read it if I'm reading a thriller, but this is not labeled as such, so I found it out of place) and almost all of it is spoken by our protagonist, Charlotte.

Now Charlotte is an unlikable character, and not because of her choice of words, but her entire personality. First, I should mention she has Lyme Disease, and while it is a terrible thing, it is entirely curable. While it may take months, or even years, I am told that Lyme Disease is curable, and the symptoms will not return. So my question is, how did Charlotte contract it; where; and how long has she had it? We are never told, yet we are to believe that she's suffered from it for years. If she's still suffering, she would not have Lyme Disease, but rather Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome; and eventually even this is curable, except in a very small number of people. So that was my first problem (and before you think I'm being cold, I have a sister who has Celiac Disease, so I know how difficult it is to live with a permanent condition.)

Then, not to put too fine a line on it, Charlotte is a bit of a slut with Daddy issues. Her father, a police officer, left when she was a child, so now she sleeps with cops regularly - but she has standards, so the cops have to be 'hot' before she'll screw them. I guess that makes it alright in her mind. She does this on such a regular basis that when she meets Sergeant Den Brophy, who's handling the Justine case (we'll get into that later), she thinks he's one of the hot ones, but has made a bet with her friend Kate that she won't have sex for four weeks (which should tell you how many guys she's screwing; she even refers to one as one of her 'favorites'). This, however, doesn't stop her from lusting after him every time she looks at him. It comes to pass that when she goes to meet him she's worried one of her 'past experiences' might be in the bar and make things uncomfortable. But she still keeps talking with a cop on Tinder. Riiiggghhtt...

Doesn't she think that if she continues to see this guy that if they ever attend a function together (or even go to a bar) that one of her former conquests might recognize her and inform Den of her little 'peccadilloes'? I can't see any way this relationship is going to work, any more than if it were Den who had been sleeping around with people she knew. Also, her mother is a drunk, so she has that to contend with. Charlotte leads a pretty depressing life, in my opinion. (As a side note, if Justine was of sound mind, Judith has nothing to contest. She never visited Justine, and relatives are not under any obligation to leave their estate to other relatives based on the mere fact they are family. A judge would make quick work of this).

As for Den, the murder occurred in Manhattan. So why are the homicide detectives allowing a street cop to take the lead on this? It's not Mayberry where there are only two cops. In a large city where there's been a murder, he would have passed it on to the homicide department and been out of it. I know this is true in Manhattan, so this didn't make any sense at all.

Now to the plot of the story: While the writing was very good, I wasn't happy with the story line. I get that she wanted to find out who the Harlow lookalike was. I get that she wanted to find out who killed Justine, and who's after a missing item that belonged to Harlow. (FYI, Norma Shearer's name is misspelled a few times, for those who want to know more about her but don't know who she is).

What I didn't like is the way the author completely trashed William Powell, a wonderful actor, nominated three times for academy awards, and by all accounts, very well-liked. She calls him a 'prick'. He had an impish grin, dimples, a wonderful laugh, could do comedy and drama equally well, was liked by his costars, a marvelous actor...and his world crashed when Harlow died. He was so devastated he had to be helped at the funeral. He didn't work for nearly two years afterward, and was welcomed back with open arms. (Not to mention he had cancer during this time and was undergoing radical treatment and recovery). There were reasons he didn't marry Harlow, but there is no dispute that the man loved her deeply. (Just look at photos and you'll see). While Charlotte is enamored of Harlow, it's painfully obvious she hates Powell.

Needless to say, I thought this would be a new cozy series, but alas, it is not. I also thought the characters would be funny and/or quirky, interesting, intelligent, or even have substance, but they don't. You can't call Charlotte intelligent when her actions prove otherwise. The book also has some moral dictates thrown in, though I won't mention them here. I do, however, dislike the fact when authors tend to throw in their own personal and/or political views - we're here to be entertained, not preached to. I also didn't understand why the owner of the talent agency hated cops. Is he hiring criminals? Because it didn't make any sense otherwise why he wouldn't talk to Brophy, and neither would any of the employees. The last I heard, being a female impersonator wasn't against the law.

THIS IS THE END OF THE SPOILER.

All in all, when the ending comes and the murderer was revealed, it wasn't really a surprise as all the clues were leading up to it. I felt that the book was pretty depressing, and it had no memorable characters. While I would have loved a book that introduced people to the stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, this one didn't meet my expectations. Two stars for the writing, but I won't be reading any more in the series. Maybe I was expecting more, but personally, I feel it is a disservice to classic Hollywood stars. Sorry.

THE JEAN HARLOW BOMBSHELL by Mollie Cox Bryan
The First Classic Star Biography Mystery

Charlotte Donovan has worked for Justine Turner for years, helping her to write biographies of stars, primarily classic film stars. Suffering from Lyme disease, Charlotte is content to remain in the background, researching from her family home on Cloister Island and coming into New York City only when necessary. Justine demands Charlotte meet her immediately complaining about the "Harlow kooks", but before Justine can tell her what's going on she dies. Now Charlotte must step into the limelight to finish the Jean Harlow biography, but will doing so put her in the crosshairs of a murderer?

Do we ever really know someone? This first Classic Star Biography Mystery looks at the things that make people tick. From rabid collectors to the primary characters to Jean Harlow herself, Mollie Cox Bryan uncovers the motivation and psychological makeup that drive people.

Charlotte Donovan is a troubled protagonist. She's unique as she has Lyme disease, which affects her abilities both physically and mentally at times. While I felt this was an interesting trait, it was mentioned almost ad nauseum throughout the entire book. Every single time her actions were impacted, Lyme disease was mentioned as the reason. Readers should have been given more credit for being able to surmise this fact and not be continually told. Charlotte is also influenced by a troubled upbringing, a father who abandoned the family while she was young, an alcoholic mother, and a somewhat controlling grandmother. With an affinity for police officers and one night stands, Charlotte shuns romantic relationships. There's a dark atmosphere to the book, which could almost be described as Noir light. There is an intriguing mystery, a bit of psychological drama, and the lure of research driving the plot. I was fascinated by descriptions of Club Circe, Justine's apartment, and the details about Jean Harlow.

THE JEAN HARLOW BOMBSHELL is a mystery of a different color. Featuring a damaged protagonist, it takes a harsh look at the realities of life while exploring and protecting the past.

Never came together for me. Some of the elements are repeated much too often -- the cop lust, the Lyme disease -- without the reader ever seeing any effects or impact. The villains are forgettable and cardboard. If I hadn't already known (and loved) the films of Jean Harlow, this book wouldn't have given me what I needed to understand why everyone was so involved and emotional over her life. A lot of promising elements don't ever really gel here.

I loved this mystery and recommend it highly. Brilliantly written, this is a powerful tale of family dynamics, greed and pure evil. I’ll definitely be reading more of this author’s work. I received this book free and chose to make a voluntary, unbiased review.