Where the Truth Lies: A Novel of Glamour and Murder in Hollywood

Doyenne of American actresses, Hayes has written nonfiction (A Gathering of Hope) and now bows into mysteries with Chastain, author of Who Killed the Robins Family? This, however, is a rather limp story, spiced by the star's inside views of Hollywood, the Academy Awards (she won two) and various fictional film types. Older actress Halcyon Harper plays a supporting role in The Amulet, starring ingenue Courtney Ware. They each win an Oscar and so do the movie's director, Jack King, scriptwriter James Edgell and producer Arthur G. Strickland. Onstage after the presentations, Strickland is murdered with a knife in his back. His estranged wife is a suspect; sois Edgell, who is in love with Courtney, whose husband has recently drowned. As the detectives in charge of the case study televised scenes, Harper helps them determine who was near the victim onstage when the murder occurred, but the investigation is stalled until she pounces on a startling clue. The story is thin and unconvincing, but the authors' illustrious names will probably make it popular. (February 17)