Scandal in Babylon

I loved Barbara Hambly’s Bride of the Rat God, a fantasy set in Roaring 1920s Hollywood. Now she returns to that era, with its glamorous silent film stars, bootleggers, gangsters, drug use, widespread corruption, and the frenzied exuberance that followed World War I. In this story, a murder mystery (without Bride’s supernatural elements) the viewpoint character is Emma, a young British widow who now works as a companion and secretary for her superstar sister-in-law, Kitty. Classically trained, Emma is constantly affronted by the wildly inaccurate movie scripts (Kitty is currently starring in The Empress of Babylon), many of which she is called upon to rewrite on the spur of the moment. She’s also embarked on a possible new romance with cameraman Zak. To complicate matters further, Kitty’s real life is as melodramatic as her screen characters. She is a generous person for all her antics, especially loving to her three adorable Pekinese. When Kitty’s dissolute ex-husband, Rex, is found murdered, it looks very much as if someone is trying to set Kitty up to take the blame and is doing a very bad job of it. A deliberately bad job?

Drenched in atmosphere and fascinating historical details, featuring vivid characters and snappy dialog, Scandal in Babylon is Hambly at the top of her form. The pacing and depth of the scenes are wonderful, just the right combination of page-turning action, whodunit tension, and moments of reflection and personal growth.

Rumor has it that Scandal in Babylon will be the first of a new series. If so, sign me up!

This is a reworking of an old Hambly novel called "Bride of the Rat God". In that novel, the threat was supernatural. This is a straight mystery set in Hollywood just when the idea of talking pictures was making an appearance. I missed the Pekingese dogs turning into Fu dogs at the end of the book, but the sweet little dogs still made an appearance here and did their jobs as protectors without coming to grief themselves.

Basically, Emma Blackstone works as an assistant to her sister-in-law Kitty. Emma's husband died during the First World War and Kitty saved Emma from a lifetime of erasure as a tyrannical old relative's helper. Emma misses her family and educational background of archaeology and Latin and is having difficulty adjusting to dusty, modern, venal Hollywood. But then a guy from Kitty's past pushes his way brutally into the present and is murdered shortly after! Emma loves Kitty despite Kitty's reckless ways and wants to help her get clear of these dangerous deeds.

As usual, Hambly does a superb job with her characters. Her romantic leads always diverge sharply from your average leading man and her heroines are smart and resourceful. I always adore her settings and early Hollywood is certainly a place and time that could be a gold mine for a mystery series. I'm happy to read the next one!