A Golden Life

Moyer (The Seeing Garden) writes a delightful escape into the golden age of film, with compelling characters that make the novel simultaneously enthralling and contemplative. It is 1938 when Frances Healey moves to Hollywood, where she becomes a secretary for a movie producer. She and her new boss take a road trip to meet a reclusive actress who objects to a film the producer is making about her. The ghosts of Frances’s past linger in the background, slowly being revealed in a way that is intriguing and adds depth to her character. Frances and her relationships are what makes this book irresistible. The romantic tension between her and her boss, the friendship she forms with both his 13-year-old daughter and the elderly retired actress, and the compassion and grace that she extends to the people around her make her a leading lady readers will root for.