Hollywood, 1924: it’s seven months since widowed English academic Emma Blackstone became assistant, secretary, dog brusher, and companion to her “beautiful… glittering and careless” actress sister-in-law, Kitty Flint. Emma receives a call from director, Ernst Zapolya, asking her to convey Kitty to his set. He has something urgent, un-Hollywood-related, to divulge to her. Ernst barely gets one word out before the studio chief demands his attention on set, and amidst the explosions and mayhem, he is shot dead. Kitty, meanwhile, finds herself holding an envelope full of cash that Ernst stuffed into her hands just before he left. Fingers point at his movie-star ex-wife, but the studio chief isn’t going to allow the press to drag her through the mud. Attention falls on an innocent young actress. Kitty is determined to clear the girl’s name, and discover why Ernst gave her all this cash.

This clever mystery speaks to aspects of early Hollywood, including its dangerous sets, lack of safety concerns (sharpshooters using real bullets?), cost overruns, Russian infiltration and communist propaganda. Kitty and Emma are tailed, attempts are made on their lives, and their house is broken into while the police dither about accusing the wrong person. Emma’s cameraman boyfriend studies Ernst’s battle footage for clues; the stunning, egg-fu-yung-and-spiked-coffee-devouring Kitty turns out to have much more between the ears than her atrocious acting would suggest; and Emma is obsessed with script-rewrites from whimsical directors, requesting that first-century Briton slave girls become Parisian pre-WWII femme fatales―overnight. My one niggle is Hambly’s frequent overuse of hyphens and brackets within sentences, but with a great deal of ironic wit, her critique of Hollywood manages to turn the so-called razzle-dazzle into laughable mundane boredom. Emma’s scholarly commentary on script alterations is hilarious, and there’s a host of memorable characters, including Kitty’s three adorably irritating pekes.

One Extra Corpse is the second entry in Hambly's Silver Screen mystery series. Emma's husband died in WWI and, after losing her parents and brother as well, she eventually ends up in Los Angeles with her sister in law Kitty, a gorgeous and untalented star of silent film. This is a light and a well-researched, well-written and well-plotted mystery. Without risking spoilers, Hambly examines the early days of the studio system where stars were made because of how they looked. We learn about the common practice of ensuring notoriously gay actors appear in public with "romantic" people of the opposite sex. Extras were were so expendable that they risked life and limb to appear in crowd scened involving guns or explosives. The casting couch entry to the profession was definitely in place. Hollywood was a small, small town when it came to knowing everyone's business. Hambly weaves in famous actors and directors whose backstories are known to us. Emma has a cameraman boyfriend, Zal. It's been four years since she left England and this budding relationship has potential, but she sometimes longs to be back in England continuing her studies at Oxford. In addition to serving as Kitty's assistant, Emma has work as a screenwriter. This could be problematic as her knowledge of ancient history is frequently set aside when, for example she's instructed to make a character Christian in a period falling eighty years before the birth of Jesus. I enjoyed this enough to buy the first book in the series so I can fill in the back story. Fun characters, fun geographical background, fun locale, interesting resolution to the murder. Definitely recommend.

A really enjoyable read that really evoked the period in which it is set in. Gripping, mysterious and unpredictable. I couldn't put it down.

"Hollywood intrigue, glamor...and murder: Enter the roaring twenties in this thrilling Silver Screen historical mystery, starring two very different female sleuths.

May, 1924. It's been seven months since young British widow Emma Blackstone arrived in Hollywood to serve as companion to Kitty Flint: her beautiful, silent-movie star sister-in-law. Kitty is generous, kind-hearted...and a truly terrible actress. Not that Emma minds; she's too busy making her academic parents turn in their graves with her new job writing painfully historically inaccurate scenarios for Foremost Studios, in between wrangling their leading lady out of the arms of her army of amorous suitors.

So when one of Kitty's old flames, renowned film director Ernst Zapolya, calls Emma and tells her it's imperative he meet with Kitty that morning, she's not surprised. Until, that is, he adds that lives depend on it. Ernst sounds frightened. But what can have scared him so badly - and what on earth does cheerful, flighty Kitty have to do with it?

Only Ernst can provide the answers, and Kitty and Emma travel to the set of his extravagant new movie to find them. But the shocking discovery they make there only raises further questions...including: will they stay alive long enough to solve the murderous puzzle?"

Hollywoodland calls to me. Always.

An Unexpected Turn..
The second in the Silver Screen historical mystery series, 1920’s set Hollywood and seven months on from when Emma Blackstone, a British widow began working for actress and sister-in-law the flighty Kitty Flint. Work continues as normal but when a former lover of Kitty’s turns up events take an unexpected turn and Emma and Kitty soon find themselves in deadly danger. An enjoyable mystery, nicely written, with credible cast of characters, a well described backdrop and an atmospheric, solid sense of place. Engaging, escapist and entertaining reading

I like historical mysteries, and I thought the cover of this book looked eye-catching, so it sparked my interest.

It was different from what I initially expected, but I enjoyed it. From the cover design, I was expecting a story with a dark tone, maybe something leaning towards the Gothic genre.

The story was more light-hearted than I expected, quite fun and quirky. I wouldn't say that the characters were what I initially expected either, but I liked them, and found them amusing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Really enjoyable Hollywood 1920s mystery. Although the second in the series, it’s easily read as a stand-alone. I liked this book very much. Emma is a widowed Englishwoman, now living with her silent movie star sister-in-law as a friend and companion. Emma provides a perfect outsider’s perspective on 1920s Hollywood. The author’s research shows in the well-crafted writing amid the mystery of who killed the famous director. I look forward to the next in this series.

Reason I read this book was because the blurb caught my eye and that's how I pick books and honestly glad I picked this one. I couldn't put it down and it kept me pulled into it. I'm unsure if anyone in my friend circle would read this but I plan on asking them because it was a good book to read. 5 star book. And yes I do recommend it.

The second in the Silver Screen historical mystery series, this was a fun outing with lots of Hollywood studio gossip, name-dropping of historical figures, the antics of the author's fictional creations, and an interesting mystery with a lot of separate plotlines the author expertly brought together at the conclusion. I particularly enjoyed our heroine' Emma's continued attempts to try to bring logic to increasingly ridiculous suggested plots by the studio directors. A vivid portrait of an industry in a time of change with all the fun of a mystery to solve.

A personal assistant to a silent film star in Hollywood attempts to solve a murder on set in the 1920s. Even though this is the second book in the series, it was easy enough to pick up the setting and characters and get immersed into the world. However, Emma's constant internal monolog and references became grating after a while, and interrupted the flow of the story to the point where it became distracting. A good choice for readers who are fans of old Hollywood and lighter mysteries that focus more on the setting than the nitty gritty of the crime.

Loved the use of the 1920s Hollywood in this mystery series, it was what I was hoping for in a sequel in the Silver Screen historical mystery series. I was invested in the story and the characters within, it was just as strong as the first book and had what I was looking for. Barbara Hambly does a great job in telling the story and have it be really well written. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from the author.

"Emma opened her eyes and discovered she was now lying on one of the dormitory cots. Most of the people had somehow disappeared (I didn’t really faint, did I?) and Roger Clint, rumpled and barelegged in cowboy boots and a white-and-blue-striped pajama jacket, brought her – of all things – a cup of tea from the barrack’s little hot plate."