Wake Up and Dream

It’s 1940 and Hollywood is dominated by the feelies, movies that use the mysterious Bechmeir Field to transmit emotions into the minds of viewers. Clark Gable, a movie star turned private detective, is hired by April Lamotte to briefly impersonate her reclusive screenwriter husband, who’s about to sell a biopic based on the inventor of the Bechmeir Field. After everything is signed, someone tries to kill Gable and pass it off as suicide. Gable’s investigation into the incident draws him into a sordid conspiracy involving Hollywood’s elite, far too many of whom are turning up dead. It all leads back to something called Thrasis, and a secret worth killing for. MacLeod (Journeys) expertly hits all the hard-boiled beats, delivering the creepy, fascinating, strange, and wholly enjoyable story with a noir melancholy, a keen eye for detail, and plenty of snappy dialogue. (Oct.)