Review: A Fun Jaunt To The Roaring Twenties
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 3, 2012
Play Him Again by Jeffrey Stone is a feast for anyone interested in the history of movies, prohibition, gangsters, grifters and bootleggers. In Jeffrey's noire tale, we are taken back in time to the 1920s when cops were paid to turn a blind eye to rum running and the disbursement of alcohol which fueled many late night Hollywood parties. Hud is a first rate bootlegger to the stars as prohibition is in its upswing, and with prohibition, gangsters and crooks vie for territories to earn their livelihood and they often try to knock each other out of the way to take over certain areas for their lucrative business dealings. Not only does Hud run a successful liquor business in the midst of gamblers and theives, he also has dreams of making talking pictures - but he's having a very hard time convincing studio heads that talking pictures are the way of the future, even though, The Jazz Singer, featuring Al Jolson, was a huge success.When Hud's long time friend, Danny is killed by a rival, Hud makes it his mission to find the culprit. Along the way, Hud meets many amazing people such as Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, he also picks up enemies who would like to have Hud's territory and booze to profit from and makes the acquaintance of many a starlet and villainous gangster.This is an all around good tale if you are a Hollywood history buff or love gangster stories. Jeffrey Stone shows his passion for the time period in a great tale of intrigue filled with memorable characters. It looks as though Jeffrey Stone intends for this to be a series and I am greatly looking forward to more adventures that involve Hud, Swede, Sylvia, Nora and the rest of the cast of players. I also look forward to all of the interesting tidbits regarding the Jazz Age. If you enjoy Hollywood history, this is a great book. In this story, we learn the ins and outs of the movie business way back when, when silent movies ruled and talkies were a thing of the future.Play Him Again is a very well edited ebook. The author paid great attention to detail and spent a lot of time perfecting his story. I hope he earns many, many readers through this first book. Jeffrey Stone can only get better and better from here.