SEX, SIN, & SHOW BUSINESS: MAY COBB'S THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT

May Cobb's The Hollywood Assistant is something like a cross between Laura Lippman and Jackie Collins. It tells a lurid story of rich, gorgeous showbiz folks with a lot of sex and a little murder. It also takes a look at the hierarchy of those people and our fascination with them.

Cassidy Foster, an aspiring writer, moves from Austin to L.A. after getting her heart broken. A friend in the movie business sets her up with a gig as a personal assistant for Nate Sterling, one of the town's hottest (both professionally and physically) writer-directors and his alluring actress wife, Marisol Torres. The gig pays well, gives her free time to write, and gives her possibility to catch a break in the business. She soon does when Nate asks her to read scripts for him, including one for a secret project of his. The plot thickens when he asks for something else.

Nate and Marisol both seem to love Cassidy, but their relationship with each other becomes questionable. They are affectionate in front of her, yet she has overheard explosive arguments between the two, often about the time Marisol spends with Andreas, her latin handsome dialect coach. Adding to the complications is an attraction building between Nate and Cassidy. When he asks her to shadow Marisol to see if his accusations about Marisol and Andreas are true, things spin out of control and into a homicide Cassidy becomes the main suspect for.

To say much more would betray May Cobb's strong storytelling craft. She spends a lot of time setting the story up, dropping clues and information leading us through the relationships and resolutions. She tosses enticing elements like mysterious notes, a crazy ex, Marisol's snooty stand-in, and an unfolding of Nate and Marisol's history. We even question Cassidy when we get a major revelation about her past. All of these bits are dropped both naturally and clearly with a direct voice. She also weaves in sex and intrigue right out of the eighties erotic thrillers that were an influence on the book. It may be a slow burn novel, but it burns real hot.

The book also takes a good look at Hollywood, capturing the relationship of those at everyone below them. Cassidy's job (Which Cobb had with a much saner couple.) shows that particular aspect of L.A. of how you can see the lifestyles of the rich and famous so vividly in front of you with it being far from your own lifestyle. Cassidy gets seduced by Nate and Marisol's home and possessions as much as them., getting much of the clothes Marisol hasn't even worn once. Cobb examines the power people like that hold over the others in this industry town, looking for that break. As things begin to get intense, Cassidy talks of how Nate is aware there are millions of her, but only one him.

The Hollywood Assistant showcases May Cobb's skill of weaving high and low brow. She understands there are many reasons we read and tries to deliver on as many as possible . She delivers the escapism of wealthy, pretty people doing ugly things and uses it to capture the power structure in the film business. She also examines our obsessions with those people. Not only is there a lot of sizzle, you might discover more meat than you expected in this steak.