Review of HEADLINE GHOULS by Teel James Glenn

The further adventures of Maxi & Moxie

BooksForABuck.com, March 2012

Headline Ghouls cover Reporter Moxie Donnovan has followed his actor-wife to Hollywood and taken a job as a studio flack, but he hasn't lost his eye for a story... and Hollywood is full of stories. It's 1938, Hitler rules Germany and is supporting U.S. Nazi groups, the studio system is in full force, America still suffers from the Great Depression, and hard-boiled reporter heroes are the order of the day.

HEADLINE GHOULS follows Moxie, along with his hard-dancing, hard-drinking wife Maxi, as they confront Hollywood blackmailers, Nazi cells, occult Nazi gangs who use human sacrifice, New Orleans voodoo, and Germany's attempts to infiltrate Hollywood. Moxie and Maxi play off against each other with quick dialogue, an assembly of interesting friends, and the glamour of the studio system in its heyday.

Author Teel James Glenn (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of fiction by Glenn) recreates the "pulp" style with over-the-top characters, bizarre situations that combine mystery, nazis and the occult, the hard-charging reporter hero, and plenty of fists, guns and drinking. I especially like the way Glenn pairs the fact-hungry reporter Moxie with his charming wife Maxi. Maxi, a Broadway dancer turned Hollywood actor, is nobody's idea of a damsel in distress. She can throw back drinks with the best of them and she's as likely to rescue Moxie as he is to save her.

Teel writes about an America that's now in our past... an America still struggling its way out of the Great Depression, still shackled with the legacy of Jim Crow, yet also hopeful about the future. Teel immerses himself deep in this past, throws out cultural references and Hollywood trivia that will delight fans of old-time pulps, without ever forgetting that we're reading for the story. If you read DEADLINE ZOMBIES, the first book in the Moxie/Maxi series, you'll definitely want to grab HEADLINE GHOULS. If you're not yet a fan you owe yourself the treat.

Four Stars

Reviewed 3/16/12

HEADLINE GHOULS is available in multiple eBook formats (HTML, Adobe PDF, eReader, ePub and Kindle/Mobipocket) at the low price of only $3.99. Click the 'Buy Now' button below to purchase it now.

This book is no longer available from BooksForABuck.com

Too generous? Too stingy. Or did I miss the whole point? Send your comments to publisher@booksforabuck.com. I'll publish the best letters I get so let me know if I can use your name.