Adam Meyer

Hollywood Kills: A Crime Fiction Anthology edited by Adam Meyer and Alan Orloff is a solidly good read. Published by Level Best Books—Level Short last month, the read features sixteen tales of crime, deceit, and often murder, on and off the set.

What follows here are very brief synopsis of my favorite reads in the anthology. That is absolutely not to say the other tales not featured are not worthy. They are. Like any reader, some of the short stories just clicked with me better than others. show more The ones below are in order of appearance in the anthology.

Hollywood is driven by a type. The guy, or gal, that always plays a certain type of character. The guy who always plays the role of the whiny innocent bystander. Or, maybe the guy always plays the role of the obnoxious bureaucrat boss in every role he tales on. Always the victim killed in the first five minutes as if he wears a red shirt on Star Trek. That type will never be the lead, but can make a good living playing a certain type of character. In “Type” by Phoef Sutton, two different guys are that certain character and things are pretty evenly matched success wise so both are happy with the status quo. But, now the harmony has been upended as a third guy who plays the same roles is now making the rounds and collecting most of the opportunities before the cameras.

Reality television is a strange beast. Much of it is fake. Yet, often how somebody truly is comes through to the viewer. Sometimes, through editing of the show, the real-life flaws are enhanced. Such is the case in “The Cutting Room Floor” by Eric Beetner, where Violet is seriously enraged by the way Scott has been portraying her by way of his edits. She intends to make her point that he needs to fix it all right this minute.

The insane power of social media to make or break a project played a significant role in the last story. It plays a bigger role in “Confessions of a Background Artist” by Stacy Woodson. Lizzie is now being forced to publicly apologize for the recent incident. Hollywood is cutthroat and the quest to uphold the family tradition and claim her own union card was and is very strong. So too was the provocation that caused everything.

Head Chef and Craft Services Coordinator Margo Reeves hates the setup in “Craft and Consequences” by Shawn Reilly Simmons. Despite the appalling situation Sylvia, production manager, has foisted on her, she has to stay and make it work as she needs the money. This also means that she is present for the murder. She is also one of the many suspects in the aftermath. A tale that will creep you out, and make you hungry, all at the same time.

Sometimes an actor of less skill gets the starring role while the better actor is relegated to a secondary supporting role. That has happened in “A Role to Kill For” by Stuart Orloff and Alan Orloff. Reese Roman is that lessor actor. Good thing Steve is around to help him work on his lines and deal with other issues as they come up.

Sometimes the executive producer bigfoots the director on the casting of a project. That is what has happened in “Call “Action, Cut” … And Take the Blame.” Andre Kramer wants to bring back the erotic thriller genre that was so popular in the 80s. he’s also insisted that a certain actress who is all wrong for the role play the critical part of the sexy and smart criminal psychologist. Now Miles has to make it work, no matter what.

In addition to the moving introduction by Ellen Byron who also has a short story in the read, the sixteen tales presented here are all good ones. The power of the past, the power of social media both good and bad, the “New Hollywood” so to speak, plays a significant role in a number of stories. As does the compelling need to get to the top, no matter what.

Hollywood Kills: An Anthology is a highly entertaining read that is well worth your time. It also serves as a kind of homage to the movie and television fiction that provides so much entertainment in our lives. Every story in the read has its own multi act drama that creates an immersive world of criminal make believe.

All in good fun. Allegedly. Unless somebody is confessing to a real-life murder and just changing the names of those involved….

My ARC eBook reading copy was provided by Editor Alan Orloff with no expectation of a review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025 show less

Voice of Youth Advocates
( August 01, 2005 ; 0-399-24332-1 )

Travis is a high school junior when his already frustrating life takes a turn for the worse. In denial, his parents keep his older brother's room a shrine after Richie's suicide. When Travis tries to enter the room, his father becomes intensely angry, and Travis responds by running out and throwing rocks at random, damaging the windshield of tough football player P.J., for which P.J. demands compensation. In the midst of it all, show more Travis believes that a new classmate, Daniel, has become a friend. This friendship, however, is a deadly one. Daniel is an expert on lying, stealing, and manipulating people. He zeroes in on Travis' weaknesses and insecurities, playing a sick game that turns Travis against his two real friends, causes him to alienate the girl he likes, convinces him to keep a list of people who need to be shot, and teaches him to shoot a gun. The stress and trauma build as Travis and the odd inner voice that plagues him buckle under the influences of Daniel's demented schemes, until Travis reaches a breaking point and uses a gun to kill his parents before going on a rampage at school. As in Walter Dean Myers's Shooter (Amistad/ HarperCollins, 2004/VOYA June 2004), this story reveals the first-person downslide of a mentally and emotionally needy teenager while integrating the points of view of others via interviews. It is an unnerving depiction beyond common definitions of peer pressure. The psychological undermining of Travis and the book's chilling conclusion are heartbreaking, just like the all too frequent real events in the news.-Diane Tuccillo. The relatively static characters here leave the reader aching for development in the worst way. Travis is not a particularly sympathetic main character, and the author seems to lack motivation in developing his human side. This book is slightly redeemed by a thoroughly disgusting antagonist in Daniel, but other than that, it lacks parity with such books as Todd Strasser's Give a Boy a Gun and Walter Dean Myers's Shooter. 3Q 2P -Luke Lambert, Teen Reviewer. show less