The Devil's Playground: Where horror is silent . . .

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The Devil's Playground: Where horror is silent . . .

The Devil's Playground: Where horror is silent . . .

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Craig Russell's "The Devil's Playground," is a wonderful noir mystery that's set in the Golden Age of Hollywood when the silent films are changing to talkies. What an amazing time period for such a mystery. Russell's non-linear plot moves between two time periods: the 1920s and the 1960s. One of the strengths of the book is his ability to combine events from these times to create a solid story of decadence, murder, and early Hollywood. He brilliantly describes the movies studios and how they relied on money, power, and appearance. Mary Rourke, a "fixer" for Carbine Studios in 1927, is the main character who finds the dead body of gorgeous actress, Norma Carlton. Her death appears to be connected to the terrifying silent film, "The Devil's Playground." According to the PR mill, it has a "curse" on it. The Devil's Playground by Craig Russell is my first book by this author. The story was mesmerizing, and I was kept guessing throughout. I am thrilled that I discovered Mr. Russell's previous books are in the my towering to-be-read file. Squeeeee! Definitely something to look forward to with excitement.

In 1927, a Hollywood fixer is called yet again to take care of a situation that will look bad for a film studio. Mary Rourke arrives at the home of gorgeous star Norma Carlton to find that she’s committed suicide. Norma had been filming a horror movie, The Devil’s Playground, that’s now rumored to be cursed. When the situation turns out not to be exactly as it appeared, Mary is given a new assignment as a secret investigator. It leads her down a lot of dark alleys and gets quite complicated — and dangerous.In 1927, the Golden Age of Hollywood, Mary Rourke is a studio "fixer" for Carbine International Pictures. Cover up a DUI? Have a sexual scandal on set? Rourke is the woman who's called to take care of it. She is summoned by the powers that be to the mansion of actress Norma Carlton, one of the biggest stars in silent film. Norma has been working on a terrifying horror film called The Devil's Playground, and it's rumored to be cursed. When Rourke arrives and sees Norma dead, there's a little part of her that wonders if the rumors could actually be true. Fast forward to 1967... Paul Conway, a journalist and huge film buff, has heard a rumor that there is one copy of the horrifying movie The Devil's Playground left, and he is determined to discover if the rumor could possibly be true. Does he really want to find out? At first I wasn’t sure what to think of the chapters set in the 1890s. Who were these characters? How were they relevant? These chapters were also written in a more sophisticated, atmospheric style, adding a layer of complexity and mystique. However, in time, I grew to like the Louisiana chapters and the themes it brought out. Forty years later, a journalist arrives at an old hotel in the desert that has long since been abandoned. Except for one person. And he believes that person may be in possession of the lone surviving copy of The Devil’s Playground. It’s said to be the most terrifying movie of all time. He’s getting paid a lot of money to deliver it to a well-heeled movie buff. Part of the book’s intrigue derives from trying to unravel clues about which roles the characters from the past come to play in Hollywood. It’s not that Russell doesn’t drop hints — he does generously — but that he seems to know that even if you guess who’s who, it won’t temper the thrill of his fast-paced, intricate tale. It’s just that good. Cleverly weaving in the real and imaginary, this marvel of a book will spellbind you as sure as any bayou witch.

Incredible news—THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND has been chosen as one of Publishers Weekly 's Best Books of 2023! It's a huge honour to be in such great company!At times, Russell’s taut dialogue and visual storytelling feel like watching a movie. (In fact, several of the novels in his German detective series, Jan Fabel, have either been made into movies or are in production.) The same descriptive skill comes to the fore when heintroduces Kansas-born Boy Lindqvist in an 1897 storyline. Lindqvist runs away to join the Dahlman and Darke Magic Lantern Phantasmagoria circus after witnessing its sleight-of-hand act “where a dark shape spread itself wide. Revealed its true form.” That form was Satan. And Satan spoke to him. Mary moves through the underworld of studio power and a corrupt Los Angeles Police Department as she digs into Norma’s death.Threatening incidents rattle even Mary, whose cynicism and toughness are hard-earned. Yet she is a strong protagonist with a noirish air who inspires hope that she’ll inevitably outwit her enemies. This story is primarily set in 1927, and I found these chapters to be the strongest. It starts when Mary Rourke, a studio fixer, finds a movie starlet dead. It appears to be a suicide, so she “fixes” it, but she later learns it was murder. Now she and her boss have a bigger problem on their hands, and Mary is sent out to investigate who did this to Norma Carlton. Unfortunately, people in Hollywood have a lot of secrets and aren’t much help. The mystery only gets more complicated and dangerous, especially when more people start dying and attempts are even made on Mary’s life. The film that Norma was starring in, titled The Devil’s Playground, is now rumored to be cursed, but is that really what’s happening? If, as I am, you’re a cinema buff, if you like historical fiction and stories that dance on the line between horrific and suspenseful, and are never less than thrilling, not to mention gorgeously written, this book is for you. I also enjoyed the secrecy and complexity of the Hollywood setting and characters. A lot is eventually woven in, bringing some big surprises. How do the seedier sides of the entertainment industry are exposed, but how much of that connects to the bigger evil making its way across the Devil’s Playground movie set?

Investigating Norma's death, Mary discovers the dark underbelly of that time where young girls disappeared, were used violently, and were discarded. The police are on the "take," and all the dirt can be swept under carpets. Under the glitz and glamour is a dark, dark world. The book opens — and, more critically, closes — in 1967 in the Mojave Desert with film historian Paul Conway. An anonymous client has paid him handsomely to find the only remaining copy of “The Devil’s Playground,” a 1920s silent film reputed to be the scariest horror movie ever made. Conway drives through the inhospitable landscape to reach his destination: Hidden Lake, a manmade enclave in the middle of nowhere. It was built by a delusional financier who hoped to create a second Hollywood. Those hopes were buried when the lake dried up: In 1967, Paul Conway, a film expert is looking for what is rumored to be the only copy left of "The Devil's Playground." His search leads him to several of the characters who are still alive from the 1920s. The twists and turns of the plot were fantastic, and Russell uses an especially amazing twist near the end. I found the creep factor and the story too ... dull. I mean, I totally get that it took place in two different time periods I just felt like the characters weren't memorable enough for me to continue this adventure from the past to the present.A riveting 1920s Hollywood thriller about the making of the most terrifying silent film ever made, and a deadly search for the single copy rumored still to exist, from the internationally acclaimed author of The Devil Aspect. The story also turns to Louisiana’s Bayou Leseuil in 1893 — and turns foreboding. Witch Hippolyta Cormier and her daughter Anastasie live in the swamp, and the locals believe Hippolyta has a “devil’s fingerprint”birthmark on her left cheek.Writes Russell: After loving Craig Russell’s The Devil Aspect, I had high hopes for his latest novel. The Devil’s Playground is a very different story, but it brings forth the sense of evil and horror that I’d anticipated. I was really excited for this book. It spoke to me - a curse having to do with a film, death, and spooky things abound. Who wouldn't be intrigued by that? The fact that this book sat forever at 30% was enough to tell me that perhaps it didn't speak to me enough to finish it.

Thank you to Doubleday for letting me ready a copy of THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND by Craig Russell. This one is out now. And the writing is just … oh so good. Russell handles descriptions like a fine artist, dialogue like a playwright, and language like a poet. But it is never overwrought or cumbersomely pretentious. Instead, it’s sheer beauty. Literary, elegant, epic.Forty years earlier, studio fixer Mary Rourke, known as the most connected person in Hollywood, is trying to solve the murder of Norma Carlton, the star of “The Devil’s Playground.” Unfortunately, the studio initially labeled the death a “natural causes” story and only later discovered it was indeed murder. This puts both Mary and the studio at risk of criminal charges themselves — for covering things up. Mary’s boss, Harry Carbine, realizing a murder could ruin his already financially tapped-out studio, sends her to find the killer. Award-winning author Craig Russell’s novels have been translated into twenty-five languages worldwide. Five of his novels have been made into movies (in one of which Craig Russell makes a cameo appearance as a detective). The Devil Aspect was optioned by Columbia Films/Sony Pictures, and Hyde is currently under option for a returning TV series. He also writes speculative fiction as Christopher Galt. This book is probably going to be 5 stars for a lot of people. I'm just not into film noir and classic movies of the 20's. Although I have to say the book is well written.



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