BOOK REVIEW #ROUND UP THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS #COZY MYSTERY #ELIZABETH CROWENS #A BABS NORMAN HOLLYOOD MYSTERY #BOOK ON TOUR
MY THOUGHTS AND BOOK REVIEW
ROUND UP THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS - NOVEL
The plot is set in the WW2 during the time when Japanese is in California. This novel opens with a murder scene which keeps the reader right away from the start curious as to what's happening on the sets. The Hollywood sets of Sound stage teamed by Warner and Walis filming Yankee Doodle Dandy which promoted American Patriotism is halted by a murder of a stagehand technician named Sauer. Right away the investigation is assigned to detectives Babs Norman and her assistant Guy from B. Norman Investigations. My favorite part of the book was the subtle humor and many suspects that keeps the reader guessing.
In the middle of the read I thought the story lags behind halfway through and the conversations can feel repetitive with too many characters as it's difficult to keep track of who is who. It's a light cozy mystery with small drawbacks and the plot patterns were familiar if so, the ending was not shocking at all. The culprit's motive could've been explored more deeply. Well, the setting is a small-town environment involved in gossips and chatter, behind there is tensions and a pool of interconnected characters unlike crime thrillers which has got big city settings and gritty and dark story.
Overall, I would say I would re-read the book to familiarize with the pool of people engaged in the book and I would recommend it to readers who like cozy mysteries and an afternoon with a cup of tea to escape through a fun read about classic Hollywood.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
ROUND UP THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS
by Elizabeth Crowens
March 9 - April 17, 2026 Virtual Book Tour
Against the backdrop of WWII, no one expected to find a murdered stagehand on a Warner Brothers sound stage. With so much at stake, Jack L. Warner hires Babs Norman and Guy Brandt, the two young private eyes who recently resolved his high-profile Maltese Falcon/Blackbird Killer Case. Social justice crusader Leon Lewis suspects local Nazi sympathizers are responsible. Lewis assigns a German stuntman, a veteran of the decadent subculture of Weimar Berlin nightlife and one of his newest operatives, to join forces with the private detectives.
According to Warner, the show must go on, but everything from bomb scares to the Japanese internment, to unruly parrots, forbidden love, and family crises conspires against solving the crime. “As Time Goes By,” actors Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and the rest of the Casablanca ensemble join the professional private eyes to round up the unusual suspects and capture the killer.
Love 1940s classic movies? Treat yourself to the award-winning Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles (Book 1) and Bye, Bye Blackbird (Book 2) of Elizabeth Crowens’ Babs Norman’s Golden Age of Hollywood mystery series by Level Best Books.
Book Details:
Genre: Golden Age of Hollywood Mystery with humor
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: January 20, 2026
Number of Pages: 328
ISBN: 979-8-89820-189-0 (paperback)
Series: A Babs Norman Hollywood Mystery, Book 3 || Amazon, Goodreads
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