Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Dream Town by Lee Goldberg Narrator: Nicol Zanzarella
Series: Eve Ronin #5
Published by Thomas & Mercer on January 16, 2024
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 300
Length: 8 hours, 47 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible
A gated dream town for the megarich becomes a murderous nightmare in a riveting Eve Ronin thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Goldberg. Hidden Hills is a private celebrity enclave of white picket fences and horse trails that seems to exist in a dreamworld. But when reality superstar Kitty Winslow is killed within their gates and corpses are found in the vast state park outside them, LASD detective Eve Ronin realizes there is a deadly, razor-thin line between what’s real and what’s imagined. Eve discovers that Kitty’s surreal on- and off-camera life, a blur of fact and fantasy, shockingly mirrors her own as she struggles to investigate the killings, wade into a music industry war, and battle a vicious Chilean gang―all while her life is being turned into a fictional cop show directed by her estranged father.
The Eve Ronin series is one I would read in order as the personal and career developments build through the series. The focus is on the police procedural with a small background of personal life but the Hollywood scene is almost a character itself. Eve is a new homicide detective in a misogynistic, political department in Los Angeles California. She became famous in the first book for arresting a tv star behaving badly, which helped her get the promotion.
Eve is recovering from an injury from her last big case. Her partner Duncan has decided against retiring; between the tv show and Eve’s work on big cases, it’s too exciting to retire now. During her recovery time, she spent some time with Daniel, who she met when he worked on a case as a forensic archaeologist. He has been helping her set up her furniture as she moved into her new home.
Eve and Duncan get a new case when a reality star is murdered. It has similarities to foreign gang killings and Eve spends some time learning about those from their task force. The reality tv family live in a gated community with their own security deputy. The deputy is annoying because he seems to think he is in charge.
There’s also a case where bones are found in the desert nearby and Daniel is brought in to work on those deaths. They look like gang executions and the bones look like South American males.
The tv show of Ronin is being shot and Eve is annoyed by her father and her mother. Her father is directing; her mother has a one line speaking part. Eve doesn’t like seeing the actors in places where she lives and works as they shoot the show.
So Eve has personal issues with disliking the tv show and feeling crowded by them in her life and the notoriety of the show. She is also not sure about what she wants with Daniel and he seems to have installed himself in her home. Reality stars and tv stars are very difficult to investigate their murders because they are not always tied to reality. They are a vicious bunch when it comes to their fame too. Then there are the bodies in the desert. Not to mention the paparazzi which seem to be everywhere.
Sometimes I feel like these books are not very realistic but that is the Hollywood pieces which aren’t meant to be realistic. They’re sensational. Eve is competent. She berates herself for not figuring out some things faster, but others don’t get it at all. She’s smart and grounded in spite of the messed up world where she lives.
Narration:
This series was my first listen to this narrator. I’m very comfortable with her performance of Eve and the other main characters feel right to me. I enjoy her voices for Eve and Duncan. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Lee Goldberg
#1 New York Times Bestselling author Lee Goldberg is a two-time Edgar Award and two-time Shamus Award nominee whose many TV writing and/or producing credits include “Martial Law,” “SeaQuest,” “Diagnosis Murder,””Hunter,” “Spenser: For Hire,” “Nero Wolfe,” “Missing.” “Monk” and “The Glades.” He’s also the co-author of the Fox & O’Hare series with Janet Evanovich (The Heist, The Chase, The Job, The Scam, The Pursuit etc), “The Walk,” “Watch Me Die,” “King City,” the “Dead Man” series, as well as the “Diagnosis Murder” and “Monk” series of original mystery novels.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 23-COYER
I so wish I was current in this series! Hopefully I can start this year. FYI, Nicol Zanzarella is one of my favorite narrators.
Well there are only 5 now and they are not long books. I’m much farther behind in the series I want to start.
Interesting this series is really, really TV and movie focused. It sounds interesting and different from other police procedurals.
yes it’s different. Pretty unrealistic in many ways but there is the mystery and police procedural part. It doesn’t feel as gritty as some series I read although I wouldn’t call it a cozy either.
I don’t mind over the top stories as long as they are entertaining 😁
I roll my eyes a lot but the police procedural part is pretty good.
I’m not a fan of the Hollywood scene. I wouldn’t like a reality TV series being shot close to me either! Sounds like she needs to make her mind up about Daniel, especially if he’s living in her home.
yes Eve has to choose carefully and pick her fights. Her family is a problem, her work is a problem. She and Daniel were finally able to talk which made things much better.
Not a big fan of the Hollywood glam, but I’ve read other mysteries where it was threaded throughout. Glad you enjoyed it though.
These are not exactly glam. More about celebrities having police issues or putting pressure on the police force to solve a case, even in a certain way. And Eve’s family is gaga for wanting to direct, act, etc, all but Eve.
Glad you enjoyed it! 😀
These are fun, even if parts of them are silly.
This series sounds really good and this book looks especially interesting. I will have to give this series a try!
I hope you enjoy it!