Release Day! Review and Q&A: A Perilous Premiere by Gail Meath #99cents #newrelease

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The Golden Age of Hollywood, 1938. Vivian Steele moved to California to start a new life. She opened a fashion boutique in Beverly Hills, befriended Carole Lombard, the actress, and married a successful banker. But when her husband is murdered, Vivian discovers she isn’t the only one hiding a few secrets.

An anonymous phone call lures Vivian to a plush hotel room where she stumbles upon the dead body of a beautiful young actress – her husband’s mistress. To add fuel to the fire, she’s not alone.

Preston Stone, her adversary and Hollywood’s notorious playboy, is standing beside her. Suspiciously, they part ways only to find themselves alone again at a movie premiere two days later, and the message becomes brutally clear. They’re both the next targets of a cold-blooded killer.

Together, Vivian and Preston are thrown into a deadly race to find a missing collection of valuable coins and stop a vicious killer before they become the next murder victims. But first, they need to stop pointing their fingers at each other.

BOOK REVIEW

A PERILOUS PREMIERE is the first book in the STONE AND STEELE Mystery Series, and I can’t wait for more. Vivian Steele is a fashion designer whose husband has just been murdered. Preston Stone is a wealthy playboy who is not Vivian’s favorite person. They are thrown together when Vivian begins investigating her husband’s murder and the killer lets them both know that they are next.

This is a captivating mystery with an amazing cast of characters. I easily connected with both Vivian and Preston. The surprise supporting character, Carole Lombard, a good friend of Vivian’s, brings light, laughter, and loyalty to the story. There are two dogs in the series–Bella, a Boston Terrier, and Boris, a St. Bernard. They are an enjoyable addition to the cast. I felt instantly transported to 1930s Hollywood, and the book was well researched.

The mystery has plenty of twists and turns. It is also made plain that both Vivan and Preston have secrets of their own that have not yet been revealed. I look forward to finding them out in subsequent books. Movie stars, fashion, murders, and glamour combine to create an entertaining mystery. Highly recommend!

I received a free copy of this book. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own

Q&A With Gail Meath

Hi Gail!  Thanks so much for answering my questions today, and for all your past interviews.  It’s always so great to talk to you. Let’s start with the first question about your new book, A Perilous Premiere, the first in the Stone & Steele series.

Bonnie:  In this 1930s mystery series, you included an absolutely wonderful supporting character—Carole Lombard.  What inspired you to make Carole a part of this series?

Gail:  My mother and I used to love watching old movies together.  There were so many wonderful actors in Hollywood during the 1930s-40s, but for me, Carole Lombard always stood out above the rest.  Like the parts she played in her movies, she was beautiful, witty, brave, and talented in real life.  Her marriage to Clark Gable was truly a fairytale romance that ended in tragedy in 1942 when she died in a plane crash after attending a war bond rally.  I have so much admiration for her that I decided to include her as a character in the book as a tribute to her.

Bonnie:  You do such a wonderful job of describing 1930s Hollywood.  Could you tell us about your research for this series?

Gail:  Have I mentioned that I love research?  Honestly, by choosing the most popular era in Hollywood history, the research has been fairly easy, although it wasn’t all glamor and glitz back then.  Too often, I found myself researching a specific topic for the book, then an article would lead me to another off-topic article, then another, etc.  I’ve learned more than I wanted to!  (David Niven wrote about a lot of the Hollywood scandals in his memoir.)

Bonnie:  Your first cozy mystery series, The Jax Diamond Mysteries, included an animal as a supporting character—Ace the German Shepherd.  As you have told us in past interviews, Ace was based on your real-life dog, Gretchen.  In the Stone and Steele Mysteries, you introduce Bella the Boston Terrier and Boris, the Saint Bernard.  Are Bella and Boris based on any animals in real life?

Gail: Yes, they are!  I love all types of dogs, and Ace was the perfect partner for Jax Diamond.  I wanted to include two canine companions in this series and decided they needed to be opposites.  The choice was easy.  Bella is based on our little Boston Terrier, Addie, who is nearly as smart as Ace.  And big, old Boris is based on Addie’s good friend, Leif, who lives next door and weighs 220 lbs.!     

Bonnie:  The main characters, Vivian Steele and Preston Stone, end up solving a mystery together.  But the reader is shown that there is a lot in both of their backgrounds that neither are telling.  It ends as a cliffhanger of sorts, as Vivian is about to reveal her past to Carole.  Are we going to learn a lot more about both Vivian and Preston in Book 2?

Gail:  Both Vivian and Preston have some very special investigative talents stemming from their complex pasts, and yes, they will be revealing more about themselves in the next book, although probably not everything.  What fun would it be to learn everything about each character right off the bat? 

Bonnie:  Speaking of Book 2, can you tell us the title and a short synopsis:

Gail: The title is, A Bloody Banquet:  Now You See a Murderr, Now You Don’t.  When dead bodies start to disappear, Vivian and Preston uncover a sinister killer who has mastered the art of illusion and set his sights on two Oscar-winning stars.  It should be a lot of fun!

Bonnie:  Before we go, can you tell the reader what else you are working on right now?

Gail: Oh, boy, I considered ending the Jax Diamond series with Book 7, their marriage, but some of the readers requested at least one more book.  So, I’m working on Wildcard, Book 8, which is due to release in April.  It takes place in Niagara Falls, and it looks like Jax’s good friend, Orin Marino, is a serial killer. Bonnie’s note: Noooo, not Orin!

Bonnie:  Thanks again Gail for sharing with us today!

Gail:  Thank you so much, Bonnie!  This is the first time your questions didn’t stump me!! Bonnie’s Note: Uh, oh I’m going to have to up my question game!

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