The Hurricane Blonde

June 12, 2023
Sutton’s gritty sophomore effort (after 2020’s The Lady Upstairs) immerses readers in the underbelly of Hollywood. Former child actor Salma Lowe has a past overloaded with trauma: her famous parents are philandering alcoholics; her beloved starlet sister, Tawney, was brutally murdered 20 years earlier; and Salma herself was raped as a teen, causing her to leave show business and fall into drug addiction. Now in recovery, Salma runs bus tours of places where famous women, including her sister, met tragic ends. But when Tawney’s former fiancé, “the most dangerous director in Hollywood,” begins filming a movie about Tawney, and Salma finds the lead actress drowned in the pool of Tawney’s former home, her fragile sense of stability begins to crack. Sutton’s prose can be overwrought (“Minutes slipped out of my clock and rearranged themselves into an internal logic that didn’t have any use for time”), but she effectively conjures a seedy Los Angeles where directors exploit women, police disbelieve victims, and members of the press are soulless vipers. That atmosphere, plus intriguing true Hollywood lore about Marilyn Monroe, Sharon Tate, and other stars who’ve died tragically, keeps the pages turning. This is an acid-washed treat for fans of L.A. noir. Agent: Sharon Pelletier; Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

July 1, 2023

The dark side of Hollywood is exposed alongside the glitz and glamour in Sutton's second novel (after The Lady Upstairs). Salma Lowe, former child-actor--turned--tabloid fodder due to her public fall from grace, is now a guide for the Stars Six Feet Under tour, which takes visitors to Los Angeles sites made famous due to their connections to the actresses who died there. Salma is all too familiar with the trauma that these deaths can cause: her older sister Tawney, also an actor, nicknamed "the Hurricane Blonde," was one of those tragedies. When Salma discovers the body of a young actress who met a similar demise--at the same location where Tawney died--she's pulled back into the secrets and mystery surrounding her sister's death. The police believe this new case is an accidental death, but Salma is determined to track down the murderer once and for all. VERDICT Filled with twists and turns to keep the pace moving, this noir's themes (racism, misogyny, family dynamics) are made for group discussions. Perfect for book clubs and all public library shelves where thrillers are popular (and where aren't they?).--Carrie Voliva

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