The Prince Of Beverly Hills (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
Interesting novel set in Hollywood in late 1930's !The prolific Woods' previous 28 novels span both non-series mysteries and thrillers as well as his rather well known Will Lee (lawyer/politician), Stone Barrington (playboy private eye) and Holly Barker (Orchid Beach police chief) series stories. "Prince" is a total departure, featuring ex-cop, now Centurion film studios new head of security, Rick Barron, in a tale set in 1939. The movie studios are becoming big business in the heyday of Gable, Garbo, and Hopper; but war troubles loom in Europe as the Nazi machine is gearing up for conquest. Rick gets his job through handling big star Clete Barrow's auto accident, in which he squirrels the actor away before bad publicity sets in, to the ever grateful appreciation of the studio. Soon he has plenty of money, a glamorous convertible, and increasing pull with the top executives of the studio. Before long, he himself is an assistant producer and apparently latches on to the work quickly as he is successful right from the start. His careful covering of a rising female star's attempted suicide also endears him both to his bosses and to the lovely lady herself, and soon romance ensues! All is swell but for the interference of mob thug Chick Stampano who keeps rearing his ugly head, as part of a blackmailing scheme, throughout virtually the whole book. In the end, who will prevail? The plot meanders to a somewhat slow ending, but this novel is not exactly a thriller with a big hunt or whodunit that needs a flashy ending. Rather, it is more of a period piece that entertains with historical perspective, an amusing story set amid the glory of the movie capital, and characters with whom it is fun to spend an afternoon or so enjoying their tribulations and victories. Woods' writing is as always in fine form, and frankly we didn't miss the explicit sex so common in his Barrington tales. All in all, the new characters and early Americana (albeit Hollywood!) gave us a pleasurable few hours of light reading without overwhelming violence, sex, or intrigue. Enjoy!
The period book opens with former Beverly Hills Police detective Rick Barron on the job after his demotion to beat cop. He witnesses a drunk driving accident involving movie star Clete Barrow. Despite the fact the other driver was killed, Barron decides to help Clete out with a cover-up. For this bit of damage control, Barron is rewarded with a dream job as head of security at the studio where Barrow is filming a blockbuster movie. Okay, the story takes place in 1939 when drunk driving was not considered the crime it is now, but as far as I know, even 70 years ago, vehicular homicide was punishable by a jail sentence. The book is readable, although the story veers off into implausibility. (Turn your head of studio security into a producer? Sure, happens all the time.) However, I had a huge problem with Woods' cavalier attitude toward the victim in the drunk driving accident. Both Barron and Barrow are presented as sympathetic characters, and yet neither one expresses a shred of remorse about the woman's death in the first chapter.I appreciate main characters with flaws and a bit of moral ambiguity, but it's just too much that Barron not only lets Barrow get away with murder, he profits from it. Because apparently for this guy, money, movie stars, nice clothes and beautiful women are more important than the taking an innocent life.
What do You think about The Prince Of Beverly Hills (2005)?
I liked how the author used “small English words”. It made every situation easier to understand. It’s a fast paced book where you won’t notice that you’re almost at the end when you thought you've just started flipping it. Every conversation is fast and straight-forward, no additives as they say. It has less narration and all characters are busy with their actions so you’ll never get bored. But I noticed, the author was not able to describe properly some important events i.e.: when Rick fell in love, when Clete Barrow died, the beating of Glenna Gleason, when Rick Barron got hit, and when Rick killed Chick Stampano. He could have used some “whipped-cream” to suffice the hunger of his reader. Anyway, all in all, it was a good, fast, and character-always-in-action book.
—Eva Manayon
My first Stuart Woods book. I like the characters. I guess I was drawn in, to the wealth & power of the rich movie production companies. Set in the late 1930's early 1940's, I at first had a difficult time acclimating to that time period.It was difficult to believe the money that was thrown around and the ease that the main character (head of security), could just command things and they were done no matter what the cost & how quickly he was trusted completely and moved up in the business. But this is fiction, so...As head of security for the studio, Rick Barron needs to prevent problems and if there are problems, solve them and make sure they are not made public. Protect the movie stars and the production company's reputations.There is part Lives of the Rich & Famous, part Romance, part Mobster, part War novel.I look forward to reading more in this series.
—Debbie
