Secrets, Stardom, and Murder

As someone who loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I was excited to pick up The Last Secret of Lily Adams by Sara Blaydes. It has a similar feel, weaving together the present day with flashbacks to the Golden Age of Hollywood. However, this isn’t simply another story about old Hollywood—it also delivers a compelling mystery.

After her grandmother Lily passes away, Carolyn travels to California with her teenage daughter to settle Lily’s estate and prepare her house for sale. Lily was a famous actress during the 1940s and 1950s, but just as her career was taking off, she abruptly walked away from Hollywood. While sorting through her grandmother’s belongings, Carolyn realizes there are far more questions than answers about why Lily left the spotlight.

Everything changes when Carolyn discovers a photograph of Lily with legendary actress Stella Lane, who was murdered decades earlier in a case that was never solved. Despite being close to her grandmother, Carolyn had no idea Lily and Stella were even friends. As Carolyn pieces together clues hidden among Lily’s possessions, readers are taken back in time to follow Lily’s own journey through Hollywood. She quickly learns that beneath the glamour and fame lies a much darker world, and Stella is at the center of it.

The story effortlessly pulls you into both Carolyn’s present-day struggles and Lily’s captivating past, leaving you constantly wanting to know what happened next. As a thriller fan, I loved trying to answer the question that drives the novel: Who killed Stella Lane? At the same time, the book explores the harsh realities of fame, family secrets, and the complicated choices people make to protect the ones they love.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It pulls back the curtain on the glamorous image of old Hollywood, exposing the darkness hidden beneath its glittering surface. Yet somehow, it still captures the magic of that era and leaves you wishing you could step into it—just for a little while.

Favorite Quote – “There’s no way to protect her from everything in life. That doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you human.”