"Closing Credits" - book 9 in the Hollywood's Garden of Allah series by Martin Turnbull

“Closing Credits”

Book Nine in the Hollywood’s Garden of Allah novels

Sometimes the end is only the beginning.

Kathryn Massey thought a long-forgotten secret was dead and buried—just like the 1950s are about to be—but when a mysterious list circulating Screenland ignites salacious rumors about the gossip columnist, it’s her life that now falls under the magnifying glass.

Marcus Adler is a rare survivor of the Hollywood blacklist. Beset by writer’s block, he’s intrigued by an abandoned box in the basement of the Garden of Allah Hotel. Its contents could rejuvenate his career—but cost him his reputation.

Gwendolyn Brick stumbled into the blossoming television industry. No fan of the spotlight, she’s conflicted by the opportunities coming her way. Things are about to change, and when she teams up with Lucille Ball, she won’t let the network stop the rapid march to progress.

On busy backlots and in quiet basements, secrets and lies dance with fame and failure amid Hollywood’s dying golden era. Nobody knows how this movie’s going to end . . . but it’ll be one for the ages.

Closing Credits is the ninth and final installment in Martin Turnbull’s Hollywood’s Garden of Allah saga.

Read the first chapter online now

~oOo~

REVIEWS

I just finished this book 9, the last in the series and wanted to write out something while my cheeks were still wet with tears. I read book 1 (The Garden On Sunset) right as it was first released so, this series has been a part of my life for 7 years. Ever since finishing book 4 (Searchlights and Shadows) a gnawing dread has been welling up in me as I knew the series was to only be 9 installments long and I had become so dedicated to this world and it’s inhabitants that I knew I would be so sad when it was over.

Then, oddly enough, I just reached the end without any of the post-series trauma I had anticipated. Turns out, it was the perfect length! We picked up the story of Kathryn, Marcus and Gwendolyn at the perfect time in their youthful lives and, after sharing their loves, adventures and losses for just over three decades, we bid a fond farewell to them as they go on with it.

And what a soothing balm of a farewell book 9 is. In a true salute to a Hollywood happy ending, nobody dies, everyone gets the girl/boy and, in the end, it’s the friendships that endure and that we’ll always remember. Now, without having to be bothered by such annoyances as release dates, I think I’ll start over at book 1 again!

– Philip Mershon, Felix in Hollywood Tours

Amazon Reviews:

I was upset that this is the last book in the series, but then I realized that was as far as it could go with the tearing down of the Garden of Allah (a play on Alla Nazamova’s name, I assume). I don’t know that I’ve read another series where the last book, and all those in between, was as wonderful as the first book. I certainly enjoyed all the Hollywood stories, but it was the three main characters that kept me riveted. Marcus, Gwendolyn and Catherine were three young people trying to find their way through all the glitz and glamour and intrigue, sometimes winning, sometimes failing, but always pulling themselves up by their bootstraps to start all over again. It was a perfect ending with the three getting yet another new start, but somehow, I got the feeling that this time, they’ve made it. I admit, I got a bit teary eyed at the end. Thank you, Mr. Turnbull, for keeping me enthralled and I can’t wait to see what your next project will be.

I stumbled upon The Trouble With Scarlett several years back while searching for details on Gone With the Wind. Intrigued by the title, I bought and read it. Immediately, I circled back to the first book, and have been hooked ever since. Martin truly has a gift for making his main characters, the peripheral characters and the surrounding scenery so realistic in one’s imagination that one actually feels a part of the story. I felt that I was there witnessing the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Marcus, Kathryn and Gwennie. They were friends; I felt every hurt, tear and laugh. It has been gratifying to watch them evolve over the years to become the stand up people they ultimately were! I understand a television movie may be in the works; I can hardly wait! I would like to see a sequel at some point updating us on how they fared through the 60s, 70s and possibly 80s! Do consider it, Mr. Turnbull. While you sent my friends off into the sunset looking forward to grand futures, it would still be nice to know how that leg of the journey panned out. Thanks a million for creating and sharing these amazing free with us!

There have been so many times that an author has failed to deliver when ending a series. Not so with Martin Turnbull’s Closing Credits. His story stayed solid and his characters remained believable and so wonderfully flawed as most of us are. I am sad as I say goodbye to these friends….especially Marcus, Gwendolyn & Kathryn. Thank you, Mr. Turnbull, for giving me a glimpse into the history of Hollywood with all of its glory, drama & tragedy. Well done.

Thank you Martin Turnbull for writing this series. I’m afraid I was rather slack by not writing the reviews on each book as it came out…but having waited for the final in this series, it was well worth it. I have followed the three main characters all the way through from the 1930s through to the dawn of 1960. Hollywood, America, and film making had changed so much in that thirty years and Martin has managed to pick up the atmosphere of those changes so very well. I liked Marcus, Katheryn and Gwendolyn as they try, each, to break into the Hollywood glitz and glamour…All failed miserably and yet all succeeded stupendously in their own different ways.

I write books myself but not with the same flair, and certainly not with the panache as Martin Turnbull does. I would recommend these 9 books to anyone…there is something in them for almost every taste…there are titillating cameos of the stars and starlets of the 30s to 50s. I can only hope that Martin feels ready to take on a new venture soon. I would like to continue reading his character’s exploits. Thanks for the entertainment value in these books, Martin Turnbull…there were even a few misty eyes with the last page and the final words “The End” and I’m a hardened Aussie male!

~oOo~