Russell has created a truly frightening story, one that gets under your skin slowly, then goes deep, like the tip of a butcher knife. In fact, several of the novels in his German detective series, Jan Fabel, have either been made into movies or are in production. What's surprising is that it doesn't seem all that different from today's Hollywood, just a little classier. It is the way of the world, she thinks without much bitterness, that men bear their scars and blemishes with pride, while women must always conceal evidence of their having lived a life.

It’s a thriller, in which danger lurks in every corner; it has elements of horror and the supernatural, with women who practice some shady/dark arts. Homicide investigations don’t really fall under Mike’s purview, but as one of the local cops ruefully notes, Mike seems to insinuate himself into more such investigations than is usual for a game warden. These chapters were also written in a more sophisticated, atmospheric style, adding a layer of complexity and mystique.

As Maggie takes charge of the two-pronged investigation into the murder/abduction, she quickly finds out that witnesses are few and far between and often reluctant to the point of intransigence. The story then switches to 1927 where we are introduced to Mary Rourke, the studio’s fixer; her job is to cover up scandals involving the stars or anything that might cause production problems. 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 all becomes more complicated post-fix, when the studio’s doctor discovers that Norma was strangled. But when a well-known fashion model is murdered and her toddler daughter is kidnapped, the force is stretched so thin that Maggie’s commanding officer decides to make use of her detecting talents.

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.

BookPage is a recommendation guide for readers, highlighting the best new books across all genres as chosen by our editors. 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. 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.Craig Russell’s, “The Devil’s Playground,” is a tour-de-force occult themed mystery/thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. The story opens in 1967 with Film Historian Paul Conway driving through the desert to meet a Hollywood recluse who may have information about a copy of the film rumored to still exist. It has everything that I love in a great novel—voodoo priestesses; traveling carnival phantasmagoria shows; 1920s Hollywood Golden Age glamour; and the production of a cursed movie—“The Devil’s Playground,” billed as the greatest horror film ever made.