Land of Dreams
Alone and barely able to survive financially in New York after the death of her mother, Frankie is taken under the wing of Nico Marconi, head of publicity for RCO Studios and well-known fixer. Impressed by her street-smarts, Nico offers her a job in Hollywood. The hours are long, and making sure movie stars’ public images stay squeaky clean can be dirty work. But Frankie is grateful for the employment, and Nico becomes like a father figure to her. When golden girl June Finney tells the studio she is pregnant, there is only one solution: marry her off to her onscreen love interest, Jack Sawyer. The pair wants no part of the plan but has no choice in the matter. When June dies under mysterious circumstances, suspicion turns to Jack, and Frankie must clear his name while coming up with a story that won’t tarnish June’s image or ruin box office sales. Each lie Frankie uncovers reveals another, and soon everyone’s secrets, including her own, threaten to expose the truth behind the carefully crafted Hollywood façade.
Set in 1933, during the height of the Great Depression, Sardar’s book captures the financial desperation of the era, offering insight into why, despite the expense, going to the movies provided a much-needed escape for many Americans. Frankie’s need for economic security and a sense of family gives her a believable motivation for her actions. While the novel takes a few too many twists and turns in an attempt to surprise the reader, it satisfyingly peels back the layers of manufactured glamour to reveal the tenuous hold stars had on their image and the lengths they would go to maintain it.
