Saving Susy Sweetchild

Barbara Hambly is one of my all-time favorite authors. I will follow her across genres, from science fiction to fantasy to historical fiction to murder mysteries. And what better combination than a mystery set in 1920s Hollywood, filled with glamour, Prohibition, drugs, silent film stars…and the occasional crime? I fell in love with Hambly’s take on this era with her iconic Bride of the Rat God (not kidding!) and eagerly dived into her current series of “Silver Screen Historical Mysteries.”

The protagonist is Emma Blackstone, widowed daughter of an English don (professor, in this case of Antiquities—Emma regularly quotes Ancient Greek and Latin), now earning her keep as companion and helper to her beautiful silent-movie star sister-in-law, Kitty. Among Emma’s duties are catering to Kitty’s three “celestial cream cakes,” aka Pekinese dogs, modeled after Hambly’s own pups. In her spare time, Emma edits film scenarios for Kitty’s producer, romances a cinematographer, and solves mysteries.

This third mystery in the series takes place in 1924, a time rampant with child kidnappings. Infant Blakely Coughlin (abducted in 1920), 5-year-old Giuseppi Verotta (1921), 14-year-old Robert “Bobby” Franks (killed by Leopold and Loeb in 1924), Marion Parker (1927), Grace Budd (1928), and Gill Jamieson (1929) were among those never returned to their parents. In Hambly’s mystery, the victim is Susy Sweetchild, an immensely talented child actor. From the time Emma first sees Susy, she realizes the child is in danger, from the drunken horse wrangler in the Western in which Susy stars to the mother who is only interested in Susy’s earnings, the drunken/absent father (lots of booze during Prohibition) to the grasping aunt and grandfather to the producer who simply doesn’t care so long as Susy’s films make money. So when Susy and her mother both disappear and the studio receives a ransom note ending “Do not call the cops,” it’s up to Emma, her sweetheart, and the Pekinese to unravel the mystery before it’s too late.

As with all Hambly’s work, Saving Susy Sweetchild balances page-turner tension, wonderful characters (including the dogs!), twists-upon-plot-twists, and heart-stopping moments. From start to finish, it’s a treat.

Thanks to Severn House Publishing and NetGalley for providing me a free copy working copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the third book in this series, and my second. I only missed the second book. The book stands alone well, with no real carry over from the prior books. It is set in 1924 Hollywood and the main character is Emma Blackstone the widowed daughter of a British professor of ancient civilizations. She had a difficult life after the death of her husband during World War I and the loss of her father. She now works as the companion of her sister in law, Kitty, a glamorous silent movie actress and her three pampered Pekingese dogs. She also works part time editing movie scripts. The story takes place during the filming of several silent pictures including one with Kitty starring as a wicked Arabian princess featuring sheiks, lions, camels and sandstorms, and a western starring talented young actress Suzy Sweetchild (picture Shirley Temple). But, as they say, the plot thickens when young Suzy and her mother are kidnapped and held for ransom. I really enjoyed the setting of the silent movie world, old Hollywood and Prohibition. I loved all the characters and found them varied and well drawn, although there were so many it was sometimes hard to keep track. The characters, the setting, and the plot were excellent, the only negative I can offer is that sometimes the author’s stream of consciousness style with Emma was a bit hard to follow at times as varied thoughts and emotions jumped out randomly in the midst of a conversation. That was a minor flaw more than compensated by the colorful characters, an inside look at the making of silent movies and the romance of the roaring twenties. Now I really want to pick up book two.