Enlightening..
A collection of true crime accounts from the city of Beverly Hills - scandals, headlines and murder - that covers a century of reporting from the underbelly of the region. Relayed from the author, an entertainment journalist, and well compiled, interesting and enlightening.

This should have been a page-turner - who doesn't want to read about crimes taking place in the heart of Hollywood amongst the rich & famous? Each chapter usually started off well but quickly became bogged down as there was just too much detail about every aspect of anyone who appeared in the story. Sometimes less is more.

I did enjoy some parts though. The most interesting story related to Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin & I'm not talking about the fight at the Polo Lounge. I loved the story about Sinatra finding out that Dean Martin had secretly called the police on his own party as he wanted them all to clear off home! Hilarious.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Post Hill Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I mostly liked this book and found many sections quite captivating. However, there were parts I didn’t enjoy due to excessive detail that seemed unnecessary. Overall, it's a well-written and thoroughly researched exploration of the darker aspects of Beverly Hills.

I did mostly enjoy this book and found parts of it more than interesting….but the parts I didn’t enjoy was because of the detail that felt wasn’t needed,….a well written and investigated book though exploring the darker side of Beverley Hills

Great potential from the blurb, but it was just too flat for me.
The writing style was dry so I wasn’t really invested.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for a free advanced copy of this ebook to review. All opinions are my own.

Beverly Hills Noir was obviously well researched, and meticulously detailed. There were times I questioned whether or not all the included details were absolutely necessary, but ultimately the book was entertaining, which is an important factor to me.

I give this book 4 stars.

Description
Beverly Hills Noir explores the city’s true crime history, delving deep inside cases that made headlines, scandals that engulfed Hollywood legends, and more strange-but-true tales that could only happen in the 90210.

Beverly Hills Noir chronicles an assortment of jaw-dropping true crime stories spanning the legendary city’s history, each with oh-so-90210 twists—including a high-profile murder mystery in the city’s most extravagant mansion, the daring exploits of a handsome cat burglar with movie star looks, a toxic Tinseltown love triangle that ended in gunplay, a brazen Rodeo Drive jewelry store holdup with tragically stunning finale, an Oscar nominated actress on shoplifting spree and more—complete with major roles and countless cameos by Hollywood idols and cultural icons.

A gripping, century-long tour of the glamorous city’s shadowy underbelly through crimes and misdemeanors as over-the-top as the city itself, Beverly Hills Noir collects the kinds of stories you’d expect to be swapped if James Ellroy and Dominick Dunne had met Jackie Collins and Ryan Murphy for cocktails at the Polo Lounge. It’s Sunset Boulevard and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood turned sordid, face-down-in-the-pool reality.

My Take:
This resource is excellent for those fascinated by Hollywood history or seeking reference material on Hollywood's white-collar crimes. Its tone is closer to "The Thomas Crown Affair" rather than "The Black Dahlia." If you're in search of case studies presented with a somewhat wistful angle, this might just be what you're looking for.

Dang it! I'm bummed I'm disappointed in this because it had great promise, but paid too much attention to details that really don't matter. And I do love a good description when needed. There are many different types of crimes with recognizable names: Sinatra, Dean Martin, Wynonna Ryder!
I know there will be readers that will love every aspect of this book though!

I'm going t't capturing my heart. One I can pick up, choose a chapter and go in and out depending on my mood. I happened to have been at least familiar with all the stories, and I felt the author did a good job capturing the story.
Thank you to Post Hill Press, the author and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book.
It has a mix of material and the level of depth and detail is incredible. Ideal for dipping in and out of if you haven’t got much time.

3.5 rounded up. I will say that the book started out a little slow. I think this was in part because I really didn't know the first few but they were interesting. I liked that the stories started out with early times tales and ended with one more recent.

I love books about Hollywood - especially old Hollywood and the crimes and mysteries that happened there. This could have been a great book as the tales themselves were interesting. However, the author really needed to show some restraint in telling those stories. The lead to the eventual story was bloated with extraneous information the reader doesn't need or want to know. I don't care what type of marble was in the Doheny mansion when police were investigating a double homicide there. And in the middle of all of this information, new characters were introduced left and right, along with their place in L.A. history. It was too much and I found myself scrolling for the meat of each story.

This could be a prize with further editing.

This is a great book for true crime lovers and fans of Hollywood -- there are many cases outlined here -- from murder/suicide, jewel heists, to shoplifting (Winona Ryder). The book is meticulously researched (and in fact, at times perhaps too detailed) but still interesting stories that can be read on their own (meaning you don't have to read this cover-to-cover). The story with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin was particularly interesting as was the story about the Doheny heir.

Thank you to Netgalley and Post Hill Press for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

I quickly became bored. There was so much extraneous information that pulled me out of the stories in this book.