Blog Tour & Review: City of Whores by Mark B. Perry

New Year's Eve, 1951.  Hollywood, California. As Tinseltown rings in the twilight of its Golden Age, a young man arrives from Texas hell-bent on exploiting his brooding good-looks in exchange for a shot at stardom - only to become dangerously entangled in the lives of one of the most powerful couples in show business. As his dream devolves into a lurid nightmare, he must choose between fortune and fame or sanity and survival in this City of Whores.

"Subtly powerful...a Truman Capote-like piece... deeply affecting and tinged with pathos..." - Kirkus Reviews

"...displays an excellent sense of plot and pacing... the historical settings sparkle..." -Foreward Reviews

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Mark B. Perry was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and earned his BA in broadcast journalism from the University of Georgia.  An aspiring writer and filmmaker, he moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and worked as an office temp until he wrote a script on spec for the top-ten show The Wonder Years. Not only did this writing sample lead to a freelance assignment and a staff position on the series, it was also purchased and produced as the opening episode of the 1989-1990 season, entitled "Summer Song." Its premiere was the number three show for that week in the Nielsen Ratings, outranked only by the venerable Roseanne and The Cosby Show.

After three years and eighteen episodes of The Wonder Years, Mark went on to write and produce such diverse television series as Northern Exposure, Picket Fences, Moon Over Miami, Law & Order, Party of Five, Push, Time of Your Life, Pasadena, First Years, That Was Then, One Tree Hill, Windfall, and What About Brian.  After helping successfully launch the second season of ABC's Brothers & Sisters in 2007, Mark was then a co-executive producers on CBS's Ghost Whisperer.  Finally, in 2011, Mark began two gloriously venomous seasons on the ABC hit Revenge before resigning to complete his debut novel, City of Whores.

As a producer on the first season of David E. Kelley's Picket Fences, Mark and the other producers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Dramatic Series (1993). For his episode of Party of Five entitled "Falsies," he was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Achievement in Dramatic Writing (1997). And for his writing and producing services on that same series, he shared a Golden Globe Award for Best Drama (1996).

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I LOVE old Hollywood.  So much so, that when I started this book and realized I’d be taking a trip back in time to the golden age of cinema, I did a little dance (yes, literally).  It’s something I’ve always been so fascinated with.  And while this book is a work of fiction, so many of the stories and rumors from the past were brought to light, as well as some seriously big names in Hollywood!  

It’s full of drama and intrigue, and plays out just like a screenplay.  The characters (so many of them familiar…) are well developed and each plays their role perfectly.  There is romance and so much passion gracing the pages of this well written book.  It has twists and turns that I never saw coming, with cliff hangers at the end of so many of the chapters (a great way to keep us turning the pages!).  This book is simply… amazing.  

I applaud Mr. Perry for such a wonderful debut novel.  I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us in the future.  I know I’ll definitely be reading.  

Rating: 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  All conclusions reached are my own.