Perhaps the best place in 1943 Hollywood to see the stars is the Hollywood Canteen, a club for servicemen staffed exclusively by those in show business. Murder mystery playwright Annie Laurence, new in town after a devastating breakup, definitely hopes to rub elbows with the right stars. Maybe then she can get her movie made.
But Hollywood proves to be more than tinsel and glamour. When despised film critic Fiona Farris is found dead in the Canteen kitchen, Annie realizes any one of the Canteen's luminous volunteers could be guilty of the crime. To catch the killer, Annie falls in with Fiona's friends, a bitter and cynical group―each as uniquely unhappy in their life and career as Annie is in hers―that call themselves the Ambassador's Club. Solving a murder in real life, it turns out, is a lot harder than writing one for the stage. And by involving herself in the secrets and lies of the Ambassador's Club, Annie just might have put a target on her own back.
"Brilliantly captures the essence of Hollywood's golden era...a thrilling exploration of ambition, jealousy, and the dark side of glamour. With engaging characters, a captivating setting, and a relentlessly twisty-turny plot, it's a must-read for fans of both classic whodunits and modern suspense." --Booklist, STARRED review
"Glamorous and suspenseful in equal measure, Sarah James has delivered a story that is both a delight and a puzzle readers will clamor to solve." --Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room and The Mitford Affair
THE WOMAN WITH TWO SHADOWS
For fans of ATOMIC CITY GIRLS and THE SECRETS WE KEPT, a fascinating debut historical novel of one of the most closely held secrets of World War II--and the woman caught up in it when she follows her missing sister to the mysterious city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Lillian Kaufman hasn’t heard from her twin sister since Eleanor left for a mysterious job at an Army base somewhere in Tennessee. When she learns on an unexpected phone call that Eleanor is missing, Lillian takes a train from New York down to Oak Ridge to clear up the matter.
It turns out that the only way into Oak Ridge is to assume Eleanor’s identity, which Lillian plans to do swiftly and perfectly. But Eleanor has vanished without a trace—and she’s not the only one. How do you find someone in a town so dangerous it doesn’t officially exist, when technically you don’t exist either?
Lillian is thrust into the epicenter of the gravest scientific undertaking of all time, with no idea who she can trust. And the more she pretends to be Eleanor, the more she loses her grip on herself.
"A riveting tale about a town and its people that officially never existed...beautifully written and captivating!" —Kim Michele Richardson, author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
"A twisting, atmospheric page-turner. Sarah James's debut, which is set against a part of America's World War II history long shrouded in secret, feels fresh and new, filled with complex characters and plenty of intrigue. You won't be able to put this one down!" —Julia Kelly, international bestselling author of the The Last Dance of the Debutante