Movieland
by Lee Goldberg
Series: Eve Ronin #4
Series Rating:
Published by Thomas & Mercer on June 21, 2022
Setting: Calabasas, California
Genres: Police Procedurals Mystery
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Books-A-Million
Also in this series: Lost Hills, Bone Canyon, Gated Prey, Dream Town
Malibu Creek State Park is a beautiful locale for campers, tourists, hikers, and Hollywood. For Detective Eve Ronin, it’s a backdrop for murder in a riveting thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg.
For decades Malibu Creek State Park was the spectacular natural setting where Hollywood fantasies were made. But when a female camper is gunned down, it becomes a real-life killing ground. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone are assigned the case…which Duncan fears is the latest in a series of sniper attacks that began long before Eve came to Lost Hills.
Seven victims over fourteen months…and top officials still refuse to see a connection. Eve and Duncan are stonewalled, threatened, and ordered to keep quiet. But Eve won’t back down. She’s no stranger to intimidation or corruption—she’s had a target on her back from day one at Lost Hills station.
Despite finding no evidentiary links between the shootings, Eve and Duncan follow their instincts into the shadows of Malibu Creek, where it’s not enough to expose the secrets and break the conspiracy of silence. They also have to make it out alive.
Movieland by Lee Goldberg is an outstanding action-packed mystery. That is guaranteed to keep you guessing.
Will Eve and Duncan find the Malibu Sniper before another person is killed?
The Detectives
This installment takes up shortly after the last one. Duncan is two weeks away from retirement, and Eve already misses him and his experience. These two make a fabulous team. With his experience, knowledge, and laid-back ways, Duncan is the opposite of Eve with her inexperience, tenacity, and I-can’t-sleep-until-the-killer-is-found attitude. Add the whole political aspect of their partnership, and they can work with most groups.
I love that Eve takes risks and doesn’t show fear in her professional life, but in her personal life, she is tight-lipped and avoids conflict. She is a wonderful heroine. Duncan, on the other hand, is the guy that you want in your corner. His love of food makes him more likable. And the fact that he is a family man who likes to be home each night in time for dinner is endearing.
The Mystery
The thing about Lee Goldberg’s mysteries is that there are layers upon layers. Just when you think you have it figured out, much like the two detectives nicknamed Crockett and Tubbs, there is another spin with a deeper motive. Things aren’t what they seem in this investigation, and more people are involved than initially thought. I got part of the whodunit but missed another part. Well played, Mr. Goldberg.
Another thing that I enjoy about the Eve Ronin stories is the setting. It is interesting to see the way Hollywood plays into the Movieland storyline.
Five Stars
I always enjoy Mr. Goldberg’s stories. They never disappoint and always keep me entertained. My rating for Movieland by Lee Goldberg is five stars. I highly recommend the entire series. Eve, her family, and her colleagues have unique dynamics that keep me returning for more.
The Eve Ronin Series
Check out the interview with Lee Goldberg from a few years ago HERE.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Movieland by Lee Goldberg.
Until the next time,
About Lee Goldberg
Goldberg broke into television with a freelance script sale to Spenser: For Hire. Since then, his TV writing & producing credits have covered a wide variety of genres, including sci-fi (seaQuest), cop shows (Hunter, The Glades), martial arts (Martial Law), whodunits (Diagnosis Murder, Nero Wolfe), the occult (She-Wolf of London), kid’s shows (R.L. Stine’s The Nightmare Room), T&A (Baywatch, She Spies), comedy (Monk) clip shows (The Best TV Shows That Never Were) and total crap (The Highwayman, The New Adventures of Flipper).
He’s written and produced TV shows in Canada (Murphy’s Law, Cobra, Missing), England (Stick With Me Kid, She Wolf of London) and Germany (Fast Track: No Limits). His mystery writing for television has earned him two Edgar Award nominations from the Mystery Writers of America.
His two careers, novelist and TV writer, merged when he wrote the eight books in the Diagnosis Murder series of original novels, based on the hit CBS TV mystery that he also wrote and produced. He followed that up by writing fifteen bestselling novels based on Monk, another TV show that he worked on. His Monk novels have been translated and published in Germany, Poland, Thailand, Japan, Turkey, and many other countries.
In addition to his writing, he’s worked as an international TV development expert and consulting producer for production companies and major networks in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
But perhaps he’s best known for his pioneering work mapping the human genome and negotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Goldberg lives in Los Angeles with his wife and his daughter and still sleeps in Man From U.N.C.L.E. pajamas.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
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