A brash detective enters the Hollywood fast lane-jammed with the sort of wealth， glamour， and blackmail it is famous for-in this new thriller by the bestselling author of the Stone Barrington series. Stuart Woods s new novel is a sexy， action-packed thriller in the tradition of his best. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote about his last novel， Capital Crimes， "Woods knows how to deliver a taut， well-told tale . . . The last two paragraphs will make any reader gulp." In The Prince of Beverly Hills， set in Hollywood s Golden Age of the 1930s， Woods introduces a new character that possesses the kind of suave confidence， take-charge manner， and clever wit-under-pressure that his fans will recognize and love at first sight. Rick Barron， a sharp， capable detective on the Beverly Hills force， finds himself demoted after a run-in with his captain， but soon lands a job on the security detail for Centurion Pictures， one of the hottest studios. As the protector of the studio s interests， Barron looks after the cream of the crop of filmdom s stars-Clete Barrow， the British leading man with a penchant for parties; and Glenna Gleason， a peach of a talent on the verge of superstardom. Rick s easy charm has society columnists dubbing him "the Prince of Beverly Hills，" the white knight of movie stars， until he uncovers a murder cover-up and a blackmail scam that threatens the studio s business and may originate with the West Coast mob. When two suspicious deaths begin to look like double-murder， and an attempt is made on Glenna Gleason s life， Barron knows he is up against wise guys whose stakes are do-or-die. A dicey war of nerves is on. Set in the era of high style and silver-screen romance， Woods s thoroughly entertaining new crime novel shows us once again why he is a "master of the genre" (Los Angeles Times).