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: 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. 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. 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? 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!

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? 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.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. I’ve read Craig Russell before. Only one book but it’s made an impression. And with this novel, I am now officially a fan.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.