Rick Barron, a sharp, capable detective on the Beverly Hills force, finds himself demoted after a run-in with a superior officer, but he soon lands a job other cops only dream about: the security detail for Centrion Pictures, one of the hottest studios in the midst of Hollywood's golden age of the late 1930s. As the protector of the studio's interests, Barron looks after the elite of filmdom's stars - among them Clete Barrow, a British leading man with a penchant for parties, and Glenna Gleason, a peach of a talent on the verge of superstardom. Rick's easy charm has society columnists dubbing him "the Prince of Beverly Hills," the white knight of movie stars, until he stumbles across a murder cover-up and a blackmail scam that threaten the studio's business and may have origins with some unsavory characters. When two suspicious deaths begin to look like a double murder, and an attempt is made on someone who has become an intimate friend, Barron knows he is up against wise guys whose stakes are nothing less than do-or-die. A dicey war of nerves is on.

This fast-paced period mystery concerns a Beverly Hills cop, one Rick Barron, who, through some quick thinking at a tragic accident, is hired to be head of security for an up-and-coming studio in 1939. Assigned to keep British actor Clete Barrow on the wagon, Rick rubs elbows with Samuel Goldwyn, Clark Gable, and Greta Garbo, and has a run-in with one of "Bugsy" Siegal's thugs. This last drama makes for most of the action, but there's plenty of romance, as well as WWII, to make this a first-rate story. Guerin Barry's steady, confident voice gives individual voices to all characters, male and female, British and American. His lively presentation makes this story a fine listening experience. M.T.F. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

 

Stuart Woods is the author of twenty-seven novels. He lives in Maine, Florida, and New York City.

The Prince of Beverly Hills by Stuart Woods
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