Death by Hollywood: A Novel
by By Bochco, Steven
Category: Fiction , Mystery & Detective , General

"There used to be a writer by the name of Merle Miller, who wrote that people in Hollywood are always touching you - not because they like you, but because they want to see how soft you are before they eat you alive." So begins this novel by Steven Bochco, in which a down-on-his-luck screenwriter named Bobby Newman tries to turn a brutal murder into his next movie payday.One day, while spying on his Hollywood Hills neighbors through his $4,000 Bushnell XR90 electronic telescope, Bobby sees a beautiful socialite making love to a handsome Latin actor named Ramon. When their pillow talk takes a turn for the ugly, Bobby watches in horror as the woman bludgeons her lover to death with his own acting trophy. Deciding to write about it instead of reporting it to the cops, Bobby insinuates himself into Detective Dennis Farentino's murder investigation, forging an unusual friendship with the cop that turns out to be more complex than either of them had bargained for. Before long, Bobby has dragged the detective, his estranged wife, his lover, and his agent into a Hollywood funhouse hall of mirrors, where only the most manipulative player will survive.