Title: Dark Vanity: Not Your Typical Hollywood Murder
Author: Gregory E. Seller
Publisher: Gregory E. Seller Consulting LLC
ISBN: 978737168200
Pages: 227
Genre: Thriller
Reviewed by: Anita Lock
Hollywood Book Reviews
Author Gregory Seller’s newest novel, Dark Vanity: Not Your Typical Hollywood Murder, is a merger of murder, mayhem, and blackmail.
Thirty-three-year-old actress Blair Kilian watches in horror as actor Reid Garrett dives off his ten-story Los Angeles condo balcony. The scene is nothing less than jarring since she’s sure to have witnessed a suicide. It was only earlier that day when she and Reid hit it off in bed. The steamy tryst signified perfect chemistry since he would become her new love interest in Dark Company, the mini-series to which Blair has a lead role.
Things begin to turn weird when Blair swears that she’s seen Reid at different places. It doesn’t help when she receives a message to meet up with him. When they meet, she’s alarmed by how very unlike he acts toward her compared to their first encounter.Repulsed by his coarseness, she veers away from him. Her negative response leads to rape. Blair, who wants nothing to do with him, is angry with Cameron Haines – both her and Reid’s agent – for not protecting her from his narcissistic mannerisms.
Cameron feels he is caught in the middle of all that has transpired, both the supposed suicide and Blair’s rape. To further complicate matters, he has no idea of the sinister extortion underpinnings at work to bring them down. Blair and Cameron join forces, but whether or not they come out alive as they face unforeseen situations is uncertain.
Talented mystery / thriller author Gregory Seller spins a twisted tale from the get-go. The opening chapters set the stage, letting readers know something is awry when other people are behind Reid’s supposed suicide. To what end remains unclear. Seller keeps Blair and Cameron – two Black characters – front and center while surrounding them with a small but very well-defined cast of red herrings. The final result is a story which continually branches off into a set of never-ending situations, peeling back an ominous network of extortion. One thing is for sure: Blair and Cameron are the newest victims.
Vital to Seller’s form of storytelling is incorporating tainted characters, and not a one is exempt. Each character has a polluted past, whether victim of circumstances or simply a perpetrator to the Nth degree. Seller’s approach to this writing style keeps readers frequently on their toes as they scramble to place his elusive cast into good and evil categories. In addition to this technique, Seller closes chapters on cliffhangers as he shifts character scenes.
For thriller aficionados who enjoy a nail-biting “who done it,” Dark Vanity: Not Your Typical Hollywood Murder is your next best read.