by Lorie Lewis Ham

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

Dream Town is book 5 in Lee Goldberg’s Eve Ronin series. I am a big fan of Lee’s writing and this is definitely my favorite series of his (to be fair I haven’t tried Malibu Burning and Calico yet—they are on my tbr). Eve is the youngest homicide detective in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, a position many think that she hasn’t earned since she got the job after a video of her went viral. Because of this, she isn’t very popular among most of her coworkers (which is putting it mildly in some cases)—one exception being her partner, Duncan Pavone.

In Dream Town, Eve is dealing with the TV show that she reluctantly agreed to simply because she knew it was happening with her or without her, and this way she had hoped to have some control. Plus she desperately needed the money at the time. One positive that has happened because of the show is that she now has her first real home. Having to deal with her estranged father who is directing the show, and her difficult mother who has a small part in it, are definite negatives. Another negative has been the way that the show and her real life have been bleeding together since they started filming, which has been disconcerting. Duncan though is loving it, especially the food on set.

The real world and the fantasy world of Hollywood bleeds together even more when Eve and Duncan are called to the scene of a murder in Hidden Hills, a private celebrity community of white picket fences and horse trails that seems to exist outside of reality. Speaking of reality, the victim is reality superstar Kitty Winslow. Another mystery involves corpses that have been found in the vast state park outside of Hidden Hills. Could the two crimes be connected?

The pair find themselves not only dealing with Kitty’s murder and Kitty’s reality show co-stars/family (which includes Kitty’s former cowboy star father), but also with a music industry war, a vicious Chilean gang, and Sherif Deputy Amus Tatum who acts like an old West Sheriff and considers Hidden Hills his territory. As they investigate both crimes, they discover that no one is quite who they pretend to be. Eve also finds a little of the Wild West in herself as she ends up investigating on horseback and is compared more than once to Tatum—a comparison she does not like. On top of all of this, Eve is preparing for her housewarming party and trying to figure out if her relationship with forensic anthropologist Daniel Brooks is moving too fast.

Lee once again uses his vast experience working in Hollywood as a TV writer to bring this setting to life! The mystery is filled with so many twists and turns it keeps you on the edge of your seat eager to find out the truth! This is a great series. Not only can you always count on an interesting mystery when reading one of Lee’s books, but you also get a unique setting and great characters! Most of all, I love Eve and Duncan’s banter and their almost father/daughter type relationship. I can’t wait for the next one. This series always ends up on my Favorite Books of the Year list.

I received the added bonus of listening to this one on audio which was a lot of fun. Narrator Nicol Zanzarella did a great job of bringing these characters to life.

To enter to win a copy of Dream Town, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “dream town” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen February 24, 2024. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win–we will delete it after the giveaway. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Lorie Lewis Ham is our Editor-in-Chief and a contributor to various sections, coupling her journalism experience with her connection to the literary and entertainment worlds. Explore Lorie’s mystery writing at Mysteryrat’s Closet. Lorie’s latest mystery novel, One of Us, is set in the Tower District of Fresno and the world of community theatre!<

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.