Ava Barry

The description of Windhall as a 1940s Hollywood murder mystery with an inquisitive journalist as the main character made this book seem like a read that I would totally sink into. Unfortunately this book and I did not mesh. I found it tedious, dull and overly long with an ending that felt contrived and unrealistic.

While the story does touch upon the dark side of the golden-age studio system the utter lack of character development and the overly long descriptions made this story a struggle show more to read. The main character Max Hailey isn’t particularly likeable but more importantly I found his motivations hard to believe. I thought there would be some kind of reveal at the end of the book that would explain why Max was so obsessed with this 70 year old mystery but none was forth coming.

There was a lot of potential with this book and as I am a fan both of old Hollywood and of mystery stories, I had high expectations for this read. I should note that Windhall is the author’s debut novel and although she delivered on the atmosphere this time, I can only hope that next time she also delivers on the story as well. show less

Ava Barry’s new novel WINDHALL brings the Golden Age of Hollywood back to life through a film noir lens. Barry tells the story well, with plenty of twists and turns, Old Hollywood atmosphere, interesting characters, and an exciting finish. Fans of old movies and good mysteries will love Windhall.