Cozy Mystery Reveals Who's Killing Hollywood's Greatest Movie Legends

PHOENIX - Jan. 20, 2015 - PRLog -- Amid much fanfare, Hollywood's six greatest living icons of the silver screen convene at a red-carpet screening of their classic movies at the first such gathering of a new social club formed by them. Instead a time of satisfying nostalgia turns into the unexpected...Death. During the screening, the first legend feted, Rex Hampton, after a long, anguished cry, leaps to his feet, his right arm jerking forward, as if he is trying to point to the screen. As his body pitches forward, he crashes face forward on the floor, dead. He becomes the first in a series of macabre murders. Something on the screen, something in those movies, made his heart stop. But what? That is what mystery lovers have to wait to find out in bestselling author Jeff Lenburg's classic cozy mystery, Scared to Death: A Lori Matrix Hollywood Mystery (Moonwater Press, $16.99, paperback; $9.99 ebook).

A prolific, award-winning celebrity biographer and author of 30 books, Lenburg has interviewed and written about Hollywood legends and cinematic lore since he was 15. A long-time fan of old movies and classic movie stars, Scared to Death fulfills one of his ambitions to write a novel about Hollywood's greatest living legends but with a sordid twist: Someone or something wants them dead.

"I've always enjoyed classic movies since I was kid, including film noir and murder mysteries," Lenburg said. "One of my favorite books is the Agatha Christie murder mystery, 'Ten Little Indians,' in which ten unacquainted guests are invited to a party on a remote island only for each of them to be suddenly murdered. Much like this classic mystery and others of its genre, my book combines elements of the macabre and unexpected with a much more contemporary story, setting, and characters that will leave readers guessing."

Lenburg's Scared to Death takes many surprise twists and turns as twentysomething ex-swimsuit model-turned television news anchor Lori Matrix proves her producers wrong: She can do hard news. The tall, blonde, blue-eyed journalist, hired to boost her station's ratings, gets her chance while covering the star-studded event at which Hampton mysteriously drops dead. The one-time news assignment turns into something much bigger when four movie giants--and nearly a fifth--are pronounced dead after a succession of film screenings under similar mysterious circumstances. Their deaths are reported as "natural causes,"” but, despite the absence of clues, Matrix is not convinced. Her only shred of evidence: Each death occurred as the actor-victim watched the most memorable movie performances for what turned out to be the last time.

With the help of police Sgt. Mark Bennett, a self-assured, charming, but tough thirtysomething Los Angeles police detective with whom Matrix becomes romantically attracted despite being polar opposites, Matrix races against time to unmask the perpetrator of the evil before another screen legend is murdered.

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Lenburg's first foray into fiction has garnered rave reviews. Shelley Glodowski of Midwest Book Review writes, "SCARED TO DEATH is a delightful Hollywood cozy mystery written from the inside. Although Lenburg's characters are fictional, his extensive knowledge of the lifestyle of the rich and famous comes into play. His characters are recognizable without being real, and the mystery itself is a plot that weaves in and out of the Hollywood mystique."

John Wooley, author of Awash in the Blood and countless horror novels, agrees. Wooley says, "Fans of Old Hollywood know Jeff Lenburg as a first-class chronicler of long-ago Tinseltown and its larger-than-life denizens. 'Scared to Death' shows that he's just as adept in a fictional setting, evoking both a sense of wonder and delicious sense of dread. Anyone who loves classic movies will love this novel."

Scared to Death: A Lori Matrix Hollywood Mystery by Jeff Lenburg is available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, local and independent bookstores, and such national wholesalers as Ingram Book Group and Baker and Taylor.

Moonwater Press is an independent publisher of high quality, compelling books, ebooks and audiobooks for readers of all ages. For more information, visit www.moonwaterpress.com.