The daughter of Peter Straub makes her full length novel debut with a story a million miles away from anything her dad ever published. Following the titular heroine as she conquers Hollywood in the 1940s, this is an assured first novel. Full review on the blog here
Elsa Emerson is a typical little girl growing up in 1940′s Wisconsin, with dreams of becoming an actress just like the young men and women who flock to her family’s theater program each summer. An unexpected tragedy pushes her to pursue her dreams, and she moves to Hollywood as a young teenager. There, she transforms into the glamorous Laura Lamont, a woman as far removed from the all-American Elsa as possible. The novel follows Elsa/Laura through fame, heartbreak, and loss while exposing the dark underside of shiny old-school Hollywood.
Cannonball Read V 