The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: A Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational Afterlife

Series: Standalone

Author: Kendall Kulper

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review:

A budding starlet and her handsome-but-moody co-star go from bitter enemies to reluctant partners when they get tangled up in the disappearance of a beautiful young actress in 1930s Hollywood.

Eighteen-year-old Henrietta arrives in Los Angeles in 1934 with dreams of trading her boring life for stardom.

She’s determined to make it as an actress, despite her family’s doubts and rumors of would-be starlets gone missing. And by the skin of her teeth, she pulls it off! A serendipitous job offer arrives and Henrietta finds herself on a whirlwind publicity tour for a major film role—with a vexingly unpleasant actor tapped by the studio to be her fake boyfriend.

But fierce Henrietta has more in common with brooding Declan than she realizes. They both have gifts that they are hiding, for fear of being labeled strange: he is immune to injury and she can speak to ghosts. Together, they might be the only people in Hollywood who can do something about these poor missing girls. And in doing so . . . they might just fall in love for real.

This whip smart, seductive caper by the author of Murder for the Modern Girl has the perfect combination of romance, vengeance, and a hint of the supernatural, set in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Hand to fans of These Violent Delights and My Lady Jane. – summary from Goodreads

A Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational Afterlife was an interesting book, perfect for the spooky season!

This wasn’t the best book in the world, but it was pretty good. Honestly, I felt like this would have worked better as a tv show- it reminded me a little of a screenplay. There was a lot happening and it would have come across better on the screen in my opinion.

I don’t read a lot of mystery books or paranormal books, so I was a little hesitant to read this book. I did enjoy it, and the premise was super intriguing.

This book is split between two perspectives, Declan and Henny. I should start by saying that this book takes place in 1934. Henny is from Chicago and moves to Hollywood to try to make it as the next big starlet. Declan is a stunt double who cannot be hurt. By some twist of fate they are thrust together, and throughout the course of the book they investigate what happened to missing girls in Hollywood over the past twenty or so years.

I enjoyed Henny. She wasn’t as stoic and closed off as you typically would expect in detective novels. She was actually very enthusiastic and bright. I liked how she became more serious as the story progressed, but she didn’t lose her positivity. Henny also gets the ability to see the ghosts of the missing girls.

Declan was definitely my favorite. I think he came off as a more complex character, with a greater range of emotions. He also had an interesting backstory, that I wish we got to dive into more. He was definitely hesitant to investigate the missing girls, and I liked that he was conflicted as it made it seem more realistic. I do wish that his abilities were discussed a little more.

I liked Henny and Declan together. They had cute banter, and they started out fake dating! Their relationship was a little rushed. I wished this was given more time to develop, because, while I liked them together, I couldn’t exactly fully support it as it felt like to came too suddenly.

One of my absolute favorite parts of the book was how the missing girls where handled. Our main characters are looking into the girls and are able to see them, but I loved how the focus wasn’t on their deaths but on what was taken. These were vibrant, beautiful, shining girls and that was taken from the world. I love how this was focused on and not the crime itself. It was nicely done for someone who does not like gruesome depictions of violence.

I did like the ghosts, though I wish they were in the books more than they were. I found them interesting and entertaining, and I think they could have been in the story much more than they were.

I also feel like this story could have been either a historical romance or a paranormal mystery. I think it struggled juggling both.

A Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational Afterlife is a paranormal mystery that takes place in 1934 Hollywood, as Henny and Declan try to find out what happened to missing girls. With ghosts, the height of Hollywood, and detective work, this is a nice book for the spooky season!