Phony Tinsel

Levinson follows A Rhumba in Waltz Time (2011), a well-crafted noir, with this subpar 1930s Hollywood thriller. Charlie Dickens, a struggling screenwriter, has a screenplay he wants to deliver personally to Cecil B. DeMille for the producer's consideration, but Charlie mistakenly enters the grounds of Moonglow Manor, the home of rival producer Maxwell Moonglow, in the Hollywood hills. There Charlie encounters Moonglow's fashion queen actress wife, Sarah Darling, wearing only a bath towel. The hapless auteur's efforts to assist Sarah in a scheme to murder her husband lead to a lot of bloodshed. That Sarah refers to "Earl Stanley, my gardener," may bring a smile from Perry Mason fans, but readers should be prepared for some awkward prose (one female character sits next to Charlie in bed, "her breasts as naked as her grief"), thin characters, and a meandering plot. Hopefully, Levinson will return to form next round. (Jan.)