A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime

A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime

by Casey Sherman

Narrated by Casey Sherman

Unabridged — 9 hours, 4 minutes

A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime

A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime

by Casey Sherman

Narrated by Casey Sherman

Unabridged — 9 hours, 4 minutes

Audiobook (Digital)

$19.99
FREE With a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime
$0.00

Free with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime

START FREE TRIAL

Already Subscribed? 

Sign in to Your BN.com Account


Listen on the free Barnes & Noble NOOK app


Related collections and offers

FREE

with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription

Or Pay $19.99

Overview

The dark story behind the bright lights of Tinseltown
From the outside, Hollywood starlet Lana Turner seemed to have it all-a thriving film career, a beautiful daughter, and the kind of fame and fortune that most people could only dream of. But when the famous femme fatale began dating mobster Johnny Stompanato, thug for the infamous West Coast mob boss Mickey Cohen, her personal life became violent and unpredictable. Lana's teenage daughter, Cheryl, watched her beloved mother's life deteriorate as Stompanato's intense jealousy took over. Eventually, the physical and emotional abuse became too much to bear, and Lana attempted to break it off with Johnny-with disastrous consequences. The details of what happened that fateful night remain foggy, but it ended in a series of frantic phone calls and Stompanato dead on Lana's bedroom floor, with Cheryl claiming to have plunged a knife into his abdomen in an attempt to protect her mother. The subsequent investigation made for the biggest headlines of the year, its drama eclipsing every Hollywood movie.
New York Times bestselling author Casey Sherman pulls back Tinseltown's velvet curtain to reveal the dark underbelly of celebrity, rife with toxic masculinity and casual violence against women, and tells the story of Lana Turner and her daughter, who finally stood up to the abuse that plagued their family for years. A Murder in Hollywood transports us back to the golden age of film and illuminates one of the twentieth century's most notorious true crime tales.
“A must-read for fans of true crime and Hollywood history, A Murder in Hollywood never disappoints! Casey Sherman deftly serves just the right mix of glamour, glitz, and grit to keep the reader turning pages. It's a stunner from start to finish.”-Kristin Dilley, cohost of the Mind over Murder podcast

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"In his stunning new book, A Murder in Hollywood, Casey Sherman takes us behind the glitz and glamour of 1950s Technicolor to a front row seat at a real-life film noir, the story of Lana Turner and her terrifying love affair with LA gangster Johnny Stompanato. It's a violent and harrowing tale of female empowerment, a page turner more gripping than any film in which she ever starred." — Terence Winter, Executive Producer of The Sopranos, creator of Boardwalk Empire

"Sherman chronicles a crime that shocked show business and laid bare the abusive relationship between one of Hollywood’s brightest stars and a liar, a crook and a conman." — The New York Post



"A wild ride beneath the glitz and glamour of 1950’s Hollywood, proving once again that Casey Sherman is a master of the genre. Riveting, eye-opening, and impeccably researched, A Murder in Hollywood is a cinematic tour-de-force that pulls back the curtain on one of Tinseltown's darkest moments, reinventing our understanding of Lana Turner as an enduring icon of feminine power. Casey Sherman's research is revelatory—a game-changer that shifts the spotlight from scandal to the strength and resilience of a woman fighting for her life and her legacy." — Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of Dumb Money, Bringing Down the House, and The Accidental Billionaires

"If you like a lively Hollywood yarn or crave a good gangster tale—or both—A Murder in Hollywood is the book for you. Casey Sherman turns his sharp eye to the famed Lana Turner murder case, and he delivers the liveliest, grittiest, juiciest page-turner of the year, a true story that reads like Harold Robbins on steroids. Lovely Lana, the bottle-blonde heartthrob, gets top billing. Surrounding her is a fantastic cast of featured players, hoods like Bugsy Siegel, Mickey Cohen and Johnny Stompanato, Hollywood giants like Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and even Sean Connery. It's the kind of book that's just plain fun to read, but when you're done, you'll wonder at the toxic effects of ambition, greed, and unfulfilled dreams of love... even in the land where dreams are supposed to come true." — William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Back Bay and December ’41 

"A well-researched and new take on one of Hollywood’s most notorious mysteries. True-crime fans and celebrity mavens will enjoy." — Library Journal



"A must-read for fans of true crime and Hollywood history, A Murder in Hollywood never disappoints! Casey Sherman deftly serves just the right mix of glamour, glitz, and grit to keep the reader turning pages. It’s a stunner from start to finish." — Kristin Dilley, co-host, Mind over Murder podcast

"In his latest page-turner, Sherman... adds another winning entry to his extensive bibliography." — Manhattan Book Review

Library Journal

12/01/2023

Superfans of the Golden Age of Hollywood will know all about actress Lana Turner and the 1958 death of her mobster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato. Turner's 14-year-old daughter, Cheryl, confessed to stabbing Stompanato because of the abuse she witnessed when her mother tried to break up with him. Journalist/screenwriter Sherman (Helltown: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod) reopens this famous case and its subsequent trial, however, to examine whether Cheryl really did kill Stompanato and how much of a role Turner played in the case. What readers may not know is how entrenched the actress was in the Los Angeles gangland of the 1950s. Fans of Hollywood true crime will discover that mob boss Mickey Cohen shares star billing in this crime saga, and the book is as much about the history of the West Coast mob as it is about Turner. Sherman is clearly a Turner fan. He calls her a "feminist hero and pioneer" who managed to take back her own life in Hollywood, where masculine toxicity and violence against women were prevalent. VERDICT A well-researched and new take on one of Hollywood's most notorious mysteries. True-crime fans and celebrity mavens will enjoy.—Rosellen "Rosy" Brewer

Product Details

BN ID: 2940159366542
Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date: 02/13/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
Sales rank: 672,785
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews