MYSTERY

Renting Silence

Severn House. Dec. 2016. 240p. ISBN 9780727886538. $28.99; ebk. ISBN 9781780108209. M
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In 1920s Hollywood Jessie Beckett works as a script girl for Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and his wife, Mary Pickford. In her third outing (after The Impersonator and Silent Murders), Mary asks Jessie to investigate the death of Lila Walker. The woman convicted of Lila's murder, Ruby Glynn, is a friend of Mary's favorite cameraman, Rob Handler, and neither of them believe Ruby is guilty. Jessie, a former member of a vaudeville troupe, has a knack for uncovering schemes and throws herself into the investigation. Wearing a disguise, she moves into Lila's old boardinghouse and then ends up back on the vaudeville trail, trying to determine who hated Lila enough to kill her.
VERDICT With a well-developed and surprising plot twist, an appealing, resourceful amateur detective, and fascinating period details, this entertaining historical will delight fans of Old Hollywood and those who like the 1920s-set mysteries of Suzanne Arruda and George Baxt.
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