A Beautiful Way to Die

LoveReading Says

In A Beautiful Way to Die, Eleni Kyriacou has crafted a novel that ripples with the escapist allures of golden-era Hollywood as it unpacks pertinent issues around the power male studio bosses and agents hold over the lives of aspiring starlets, established female movie stars, and anyone in their employment, for that matter.

Glamorous and gritty, it’s a gripping mystery that unpacks the fateful night of a debauched Oscars afterparty as it moves between Hollywood and Ealing, and the stories of two women connected to the same all-powerful man. In 1953, aspiring young actress Ginny makes the move from England to Hollywood, where she works hard and attracts the attention of celebrated Hollywood legend, Max — an actor who promises to help her realise her dreams of moving from playing bit-part bad girls in ill-fitting costumes to bigger, better roles.

Meanwhile, a second narrative follows Stella’s story. A Hollywood screen legend in her own right, since divorcing philandering Max she’s been compelled to swap the dazzling lights of Hollywood for roles in the less-glamorous Ealing studios.

Between these two narratives, we read of the experiences of a woman who’s been sent to a sanitorium, and the revelations around what connects all three women are powerfully shocking. Inspired by “true crime cases that Hollywood has swept under the carpet”, A Beautiful Way to Die is a show-stoppingly compelling novel that also reveals the power of sisterhood.

Joanne Owen

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