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Well-written and so true to traditional hardboiled noir you’ll feel like you are watching a black and white movie.

Hollywood, 1947: John McClellan is a former cop turned security chief for Continental Pictures, paid to avert scandal. So when former love interest and wife of one of one of Continental’s directors is found dead, it’s his job to support the company line of suicide. But McClellan is his own man. He refuses to let the truth of Claire’s death go undiscovered, even when the trail leads back to the studio and a conspiracy that goes deeper than even he could imagine. Quick with his fists and no stranger to a gun, McClellan soon finds himself in a fight to save his cousin and his new love from the men behind The Studio Kill.

The Studio Kill is so evocative of old noir movies there was a sense of Déjà vu. I could almost hear the dramatic film score and see actors from that golden era in each of the roles. Set in a time when the casting couch was well-used and undisguised, and the marginalisation and exploitation of women by the studio bosses was accepted by all, Fleming offsets this with the character of Frances Anderson, whose sassy quips are reminiscent of the great lines Ginger Rogers delivered in her early movies. McClellan himself is the stereotypical tough guy: a slab of granite without sentimentality but an ethical code at his core, very reminiscent of Hammett’s Sam Spade in both form and tone. Fleming is a veteran journalist and his experience shines through in the character of Danny Vine, the show-business columnist who is a thorn in the side of McClellan. For me, Frances and Danny Vine are the standout characters and save this novel from what could, in the hands of another author, have become a very wooden cast. Fans of noir and the golden era of Hollywood will enjoy the references to real film stars and their peccadillos, and may have fun identifying other historical figures thinly disguised as fictional characters.

There is much to enjoy in this quality novel. Fleming keeps us guessing about the reasons for Claire’s death, and the twists and turns of the central mystery are captivating.

*With thanks to Netgalley and Asahina & Wallace publishing for my review copy. For a Q&A with Charles Fleming or to buy the book visit their website