Both readers and critics have been enchanted by Earl Hamner's novels Spencer's Mountain, which became a film with Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara, and The Homecoming, which became the pilot for Hamner's long-running and beloved television series, The Waltons. Applause similarly greeted The Last Smile, the first suspense novel from Don Sipes. Imagine then the result when these two multi-talented Hollywood insiders put their heads together and concoct the perfect murder--set under the bright lights of Tinseltown.
Emory Goode is one of the top producers in Hollywood. He's ruthless, efficient, and used to getting what he wants, when he wants it. He's got a new television pilot in the works, with a starring role an actress would die for. But when his first choice for the role, Lyla Taylor, turns up dead just before the final casting call, Goode is forced to wonder whether the motivation for the murder was personal--or Hollywood at its worst. Goode soon finds himself in a race against time, desperately trying to solve the mystery--before the killer strikes again.