Main description:

On a dismal evening in the previous century, an unnamed writer in Venice, California, answers a furious pounding at his beachfront bungalow door and again admits Constance Rattigan into his life. An aging, once-glamorous Hollywood star, Constance is running in fear from something she dares not acknowledge -- and vanishes as suddenly as she appeared, leaving the narrator two macabre books: twin listings of the Tinseltown dead and soon to be dead, with Constance's name included among them. And so begins an odyssey as dark as it is wondrous, as the writer sets off in a broken-down jalopy with his irascible sidekick Crumley to sift through the ashes of a bygone Hollywood -- a graveyard of ghosts and secrets where each twisted road leads to grim shrines and shattered dreams ... and, all too often, to death.

Review quote:

“An irresistible tale which will be in demand, since it’s only Bradbury’s second novel since 1963. ”

Review quote:

“Bradbury remains a conjurer.”

Review quote:

“Madness, blackmail, murder and mayhem spell tricks and treats as Bradbury toes the fine line between reality and illusion.”

Review quote:

“Ray Bradbury remains a master storyteller, and his writing still cracks my hat.”

Review quote:

“Ray Bradbury’s writing remains as rich and ripe as ever.”