"Fantastic stand alone historical tale"

After years working as a Beverly Hills detective, Rick Barron is busted down to police officer because he got his captain's daughter pregnant. One night he witnesses a traffic accident and recognizes that famous movie star Clete Barrow caused it. He quickly removes the license plates and registration from the vehicle so that no one knows that Clete caused the accident while under the influence of alcohol. On Clete's instructions, Rick calls Eddie Harris, a Centurion Studios Executive, who knows the right people to make the mess go away.

Eddie is so impressed with Rick's handling of the fiasco he offers him a job as head of security. Rick eagerly accepts the position. His first assignment is to baby sit Clete until the film is finished. In the course of his new job, he crosses paths with Rick Stampano who has connections with Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano. Stampano has a habit of beating up and almost killing studio girls; Rick tries to intercede and makes a deadly enemy. In an act of revenge, Stampano beats up Rick's fiancée; an incident that must not go unpunished.

Stuart Woods has written a fantastic stand alone tale that captures the ambience of Hollywood just prior to World War II through tidbits and real notables like Hedda Hopper referring to Rick as THE PRINCE OF BEVERLY HILLS because of his fancy garbs. The antagonist is a nasty person whom today would be considered a stalker for his preying on starlets, but the law cannot touch him since none of the victims want the adverse publicity. This is a rich, complex thriller about Hollywood, home to extortion, blackmail, and murder.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 10, 2004

Summary

A brash detective enters the Hollywood fast lane-jammed with the sort of wealth, glamour, and blackmail it is famous for-in this new thriller by the bestselling author of the Stone Barrington series. Stuart Woods's new novel is a sexy, action-packed thriller in the tradition of his best. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote about his last novel, Capital Crimes, "Woods knows how to deliver a taut, well-told tale . . . The last two paragraphs will make any reader gulp." In The Prince of Beverly Hills, set in Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s, Woods introduces a new character that possesses the kind of suave confidence, take-charge manner, and clever wit-under- pressure that his fans will recognize and love at first sight. Rick Barron, a sharp, capable detective on the Beverly Hills force, finds himself demoted after a run-in with his captain, but soon lands a job on the security detail for Centurion Pictures, one of the hottest studios. As the protector of the studio's interests, Barron looks after the cream of the crop of filmdom's stars-Clete Barrow, the British leading man with a penchant for parties; and Glenna Gleason, a peach of a talent on the verge of superstardom. Rick's easy charm has society columnists dubbing him "the Prince of Beverly Hills," the white knight of movie stars, until he uncovers a murder cover-up and a blackmail scam that threatens the studio's business and may originate with the West Coast mob. When two suspicious deaths begin to look like double-murder, and an attempt is made on Glenna Gleason's life, Barron knows he is up against wise guys whose stakes are do-or-die. A dicey war of nerves is on.