Review 4.5 out of 5.0
Pages: 304
Author Casey Sherman
This book was written a little different then most true crime books. It starts with the murder and then goes back in time. So you already know who’s dead and who possible did it. But then it goes into the story on how we got there. Taking place in old Hollywood, made the backdrop very intriguing to me. I personally love old Hollywood and I am convinced I was born in the wrong time.
The old time actors and the mobsters mixing together in places like the Copacabana. The author gets detailed and sets the stage for a wonderful and interesting story. Every chapter makes you feel like you are back in time and living a part of the story. Beautifully written and I loved the content and story.
The book centers around actress Lana Turner and her rise to fame and sometimes fortune. The string of men she dates and marries along the way. Her struggles with how a proper Hollywood star in that time should act and conduct herself and how it lead her sometimes down a path of hurt and disappointment. It also centers around the mob and how they ran Hollywood and Las Vegas.
Mickey Cohen Lana Turner Lana and Johnny Stompanato Mickey Cohen Booking Card
Mickey Cohen and his casinos and his rivals constantly trying to knock him off. The mob and Hollywood crossing paths not always on the good side of things. Lana Turner cross paths with Mickey when the man she is dating Johnny Stompanato who is Mickey’s right hand man turns up dead, by the hand of Lana’s daughter Cheryl. Johnny was a jealous type and did not want to let Lana go and definitely did not like her talking to other men. He became abusive and threatened to kill Lana. Eventually he gets stabbed in the stomach by Cheryl and dies and this means Mickey is now out for revenge to avenge his best friend. Mickey wants to make Lana pay either with money or her life.
Crime Scene photo of Johnny Autopsy Photo of Johnny Stab wound that was inflicted by Cheryl Mickey at Johnny’s Funeral
The headline of Stompanato’s Murder Trial became the biggest headline of the year and the biggest roll that Lana ever had to play to get her daughter out of having to spend a lifetime in jail.
Quote: “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I am kind to everyone, but when someone is unkind to me, weak is not what you are going to remember about me.” ~ Al Capone
“All good things must one day be burnt to the ground for the insurance money.” ~ Mickey Cohen