The Divide by Morgan Richter (2024)
I couldn't wait to get into this one for its genre alone......an L.A. contemporary Neo-Noir set amid the semi B-Listers who skim along side the cream of Hollywood strivers, all chasing their dreams of fame fortune, million dollar deals and Instagram clicks.
Definitely not in their league is Jenny St. John, a fake psychic barely scraping out enough of a living to pay the rent on the office she also illegally lives in. Back in her early 20's as a fresh-off-the-bus starlet, she caught lightning in a bottle as a star of the independent film "The Divide". But the ill-fated film never saw the light of day, dashing her dreams and leading to her current miserable life. Pouring salt in her wounds - her director Serge Grumet went on to a fabulously successful career and his ex wife Gena, an uncanny look-alike for Jenny claimed she was the actual star of "The Divide"
Then Jenny's stunned to hear of their reversals of fortune - Serge was shot dead in his home and Gena's disappeared. presumed, either dead or on the run as a suspect, depending on who you ask. Through her extraordinary resemblance to Gena and her so called psychic ability, Jenny's accepted into Serge and Gena's coterie of artistic-showbiz friends, enemies and hangers-on. She's hoping to pin down both Serge's murderer and the everlasting hurtful mystery of her would-be doppelganger and career usurper, Gena.
Author Morgan Richter lines up a terrific colorful cast of unusual Hollywood suspects for Jenny to interrogate. But I parted company with the book's fuzzy flirtation with paranormal elements and the all too overused multi-verse stuff, the very thought of which sends me into upward eye rolling. There's no real concrete payoff to those tropes anyway and guaranteed to leave readers fascinated by that part of it unsatisfied.
But I did fully soak up and appreciate the Tinseltown whodunit part of "The Divide" which does deliver a fair, logical reveal and a suspenseful climactic showdown for Jenny.. Much to enjoy here and I wouldn't mind seeing Jenny take on more mysteries among the upper and lower classes of L.A.s entertainment industry.....4 stars (****).
Definitely not in their league is Jenny St. John, a fake psychic barely scraping out enough of a living to pay the rent on the office she also illegally lives in. Back in her early 20's as a fresh-off-the-bus starlet, she caught lightning in a bottle as a star of the independent film "The Divide". But the ill-fated film never saw the light of day, dashing her dreams and leading to her current miserable life. Pouring salt in her wounds - her director Serge Grumet went on to a fabulously successful career and his ex wife Gena, an uncanny look-alike for Jenny claimed she was the actual star of "The Divide"
Then Jenny's stunned to hear of their reversals of fortune - Serge was shot dead in his home and Gena's disappeared. presumed, either dead or on the run as a suspect, depending on who you ask. Through her extraordinary resemblance to Gena and her so called psychic ability, Jenny's accepted into Serge and Gena's coterie of artistic-showbiz friends, enemies and hangers-on. She's hoping to pin down both Serge's murderer and the everlasting hurtful mystery of her would-be doppelganger and career usurper, Gena.
Author Morgan Richter lines up a terrific colorful cast of unusual Hollywood suspects for Jenny to interrogate. But I parted company with the book's fuzzy flirtation with paranormal elements and the all too overused multi-verse stuff, the very thought of which sends me into upward eye rolling. There's no real concrete payoff to those tropes anyway and guaranteed to leave readers fascinated by that part of it unsatisfied.
But I did fully soak up and appreciate the Tinseltown whodunit part of "The Divide" which does deliver a fair, logical reveal and a suspenseful climactic showdown for Jenny.. Much to enjoy here and I wouldn't mind seeing Jenny take on more mysteries among the upper and lower classes of L.A.s entertainment industry.....4 stars (****).
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