Megan’s Song
Megan’s Song feels heavily influenced by old movie plots. It’s set in Jackson, Wyoming in 1925, and it has just about everything. There’s beautiful Megan Foxworth, with the voice of an angel, dreaming of stardom. Her destitute mother has married her off to Terry Foxworth, whose parents run a dude ranch. Their secret business is whiskey, however, and the eavesdropping telephone operator has heard that a Prohibition agent is coming to town. Also coming to town is Megan’s sister, Luella, now known as Daphne Divine, to shoot location footage for her latest movie. For Steamer Daniels, the director, and Megan, it’s love at first sight. Alan Segal, the studio head, is dogged by the niece of his Italian moneylender, who is along for the shoot to make sure no more time and money is lost. Throw in a deadly mudslide on location and you can see how many reels this picture would run to.
Although full of incident, the book is well-paced. Characters, though, aren’t as well drawn. Villains are caricatures, motives are murky, and there are clumsy mistakes with names and knowledge. The book would have benefited from a close read by an editor.
