Review: Dream Town

Dream Town by Lee Goldberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of my favorite authors for characterization and descriptive locations. His books read with as much action and realism as his TV shows. Eve Ronin just cannot help but get on her superiors' nerves but she is thorough and dogged in her determination to solve any crime that comes her way. Duncan, her poor, more experienced, soon to retire partner tries his best to rope her in to no avail. He is so concerned about her survival that he postponed his retirement after their last case and finds himself riding herd on her in Hidden Hills, a gated community of the rich with a Western theme! Apparently, such a place truly exists though Goldberg jazzed it up a bit with a resident deputy sheriff who rides a horse, wears a stetson and has his own little hoosegow on the estate. I instantly disliked and distrusted this character upon his appearance. Even his name, Amos Tatum, annoyed me.

But the most annoying characters were the Kardashian wannabes, the Winslows. Daddy is a retired film cowboy living in his fictional world, his heavily sculpted and endowed wife, and two obnoxious children. His eldest, Kitty, has just been shot in the face in her bedroom in her glamourous guest cottage. And her gazzillion dollar engagement ring has gone missing. When Eve and Duncan show up to investigate, Tatum is there to assure them he has it all in hand in HIS community. Eve will have nothing to do with yet another deputy thinking he'll try riding rough shod over her. And so it begins. Who killed Kitty--the darling of the reality Life with the Winslows reality show? If only hers were the only dead body our heroine will encounter before this saga ends.

Interesting, too, is the behind the scenes of how TV shows are filmed, where they are filmed, who does what behind the scenes and the politics of production. I'll never view a TV program the same again. Neither will you!

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