num_pages: 416
description: Rick Barron, a sharp, capable detective on the Beverly Hills force, finds himself demoted after he makes a mistake and has a run-in with a superior officer. But he soon lands a job other cops only dream about: the security detail for Centurion Pictures, one of the hottest studios in Hollywood's golden age of the late 1930s.How he lands that new post is quite something.As protector of the studio's interests, Barron looks after the elite of filmdom's stars - among them Clete Barrow, a British leading man with a penchant for parties, and Glenna Gleason, a peach of a talent on the verge of stardom. Rick's easy charm has society columnists dubbing him "the Prince of Beverly Hills," the white knight for movie stars. Then he stumbles across a murder cover-up and a blackmail scam that threaten the studio's business. They may have origins with some unsavory characters. When two suspicious deaths begin to look like a double murder, and an attempt is made on someone who has become an intimate friend, Barron knows he is up against wise guys whose stakes are nothing less than do-or-die. It's a dicey war of nerves.Librarian's note: this is one of two volumes in the author's Rick Barron series: 1. The Prince of Beverley Hills (2004), and 2. Beverley Hills Dead (2008).
language: English
title: The Prince of Beverly Hills
titlecomplete: The Prince of Beverly Hills (Rick Barron, #1)
characters: George Cukor (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Hedda Hopper (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Clark Gable (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Melvin Carson, Jack Dragna (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Ben (Bugsy) Siegel (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Sol Weinman, Carla Travis, Lucky Luciano (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Female driver of a Model A coupe, Al the gun dealer, Al (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Tom Terry, Maria and Manuel, Artie Shaw and Buddy Rich (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Charley and Mario at Ciro's, Irving Thalberg, Louis B. Mayer and Sam Goldwyn  (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Glenna Gleason, Ben Morrison, Clete Barrow, Rick Barron, Chief Davidson, David Niven (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Jack Barron (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Dr. Paul Smith, Dr. James Hudson, Greta Garbo (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Chick Stampano, Chief Blair and Captain O'Connell, Eddie Mannix (The Prince of Beverley Hills), John Kean and Cal Herman, Hans (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Neville Chamberlain (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Errol Flynn, John Garfield, Alan Ladd, and Lawrence Barry  (The Prince of Beverly Hills), Hiram Jones, Eddie Harris
genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Action, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction, Audiobook
ratings_count: 3745
places: Hollywood, California, Los Angeles, California
series: Rick Barron
publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons