Occupation: Private Eye during the Golden Age of Hollywood

Hi, my name is Babs Norman. My real name is Barbara, but only my stubborn mother and my crazy (don’t underestimate him) ex-husband call me that. I changed my name when I moved from my hometown of San Francisco to Los Angeles at the age of twenty to “break a leg” into show business, and I felt that ouch. Guess the casting couch attitudes of unscrupulous producers broke me instead, so I partnered with another disgruntled actor, a closeted male. We got our legitimate licenses and started our own detective agency, B. Norman Investigations. Mind you, it hasn’t been an easy road. Our former careers had nothing to do with law enforcement, and we’ve made a lot of stupid mistakes along the way. If you can keep on smiling at the end of the day, I guess you’ve accomplished something.

Well anyway, because he’s a guy, and goes by the nickname of Guy, most people think my sidekick runs the place. He’s really my secretary and more like my Doctor Watson. Sometimes that’s not such a bad thing, because few take me seriously. How many people heard of a female private investigator in the year of 1940? Most people perceive us as femme fatales or dames in distress. Probably because they’ve read Hammett or Chandler or watched too many Jimmy Cagney movies.

Guy changed his name, too. His birth name was Gary Brandt. Since it sounded too much like another already famous actor, he felt it was best to change it. With me, I needed to start with a clean slate. If my ex-husband ever caught up with me, he might try to kill me, and I did nothing wrong except to marry someone who needed to remain behind bars. Long story, and I’d rather not get into it.

There are two things you need to know about me: 1) Even when a situation seems hopeless, I won’t give up, and right now my whole life is skating on thin ice. My landlady evicted me from my residence, and I camped out in my office until my new celebrity client bailed me out. 2) I’m a sucker for animals of all kinds and probably should’ve opened an animal rescue center rather than chasing after people committing insurance fraud or cheating on their wives.

I met our “savior” client at a vet’s office while rescuing a box of abandoned kittens. He panicked, because his Cocker Spaniel had disappeared. Neither the Los Angeles Police Department nor the City Pound took him seriously. Why? They laughed and said, “Sherlock Holmes lost his dog? Go find him yourself. We have bigger crimes to solve.”

By now, you probably guessed the identity of this poor, distraught man. He’s none other than Basil Rathbone, synonymous with Sherlock Holmes in Hollywood. Not only did his dog mysteriously vanish, but Asta, the adorable pup from the Thin Man movies, was missing as well and, guess what? Both MGM and Basil were offering huge rewards and exactly what my detective agency needed to get out of the red.

So what’s my typical day like? That depends on whether I’m sleeping on my couch in my detective agency and sponge bathing in a public restroom, taking temporary refuge in my rich client’s guestroom, or renting an efficiency in a decrepit residential hotel while sleeping on a creaky Murphy bed because Basil’s jealous wife kicked me out. Regardless of where I rest my head, when I wake, I need my hot coffee and a chocolate éclair.

Foolhardy? I guess so. Danger won’t daunt me. Police have arrested me and have thrown me in jail, and I’m not afraid to fire a gun. Otherwise, every day brings adventure.

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles, A Babs Norman Golden Age of Hollywood Mystery Book #1
Genre: Screwball Comedy, Historical Mystery
Release: March 2024
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Asta, the dog from the popular Thin Man series, has vanished, and production for his next film is pending. MGM Studios offers a huge reward, and that’s exactly what young private detectives Babs Norman and Guy Brandt need for their struggling business to survive. Celebrity dognapping now a growing trend, when the police and city pound ridicule Basil Rathbone and ask, “Sherlock Holmes has lost his dog?” Basil also hires the B. Norman Agency to find his missing Cocker Spaniel.

The three concoct a plan for Basil to assume his on-screen persona and round up possible suspects, including Myrna Loy and William Powell; Dashiell Hammett, creator of The Thin Man; Nigel Bruce, Basil’s on-screen Doctor Watson; Hollywood-newcomer, German philanthropist and film financier Countess Velma von Rache, and the top animal trainers in Tinseltown. Yet everyone will be in for a shock when the real reason behind the canine disappearances is even more sinister than imagined.

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles is for lovers of Turner Classic Movies and fans of Laurie R. King, Susan Elia MacNeal, and Renee Patrick who love historical mysteries with sharp female protagonists but with a humorous twist.

About the author
Elizabeth Crowens is bi-coastal between Los Angeles and New York. For over thirty years, she has worn many hats in the entertainment industry, contributed stories to Black Belt, Black Gate, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazines, Hell’s Heart, and the Bram Stoker-nominated A New York State of Fright, and has a popular Caption Contest on Facebook. Awards include: Leo B. Burstein Scholarship from the MWA-NY Chapter, NYFA grant to publish New York: Give Me Your Best or Your Worst, Eric Hoffer Award, Glimmer Train Awards Honorable Mention, Killer Nashville Claymore Award Finalist, two Grand prize, and three First prize Chanticleer Awards. Crowens writes the multi-genre alternate history Time Traveler Professor series and historical Hollywood mysteries. Sign up for her free monthly newsletter and get free eBooks of Best of the Caption Contests at elizabethcrowens.com.