Most mornings I’m up by 5:00 because I like starting the day with a walk along the shoreline before I have to get on the road to work. My name’s Joey Jessop, and I live in “America’s Most Glamorous Trailer Park” (so says the NY Times travel section) at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California. It’s a sweet community and the location is wonderful, although “glamorous” is a stretch. But I love my little prefab bungalow by the beach; it’s a peaceful refuge that balances the hectic pace of my life at work.

Don’t get me wrong: I love my work. I’m a key costumer for feature films and in most ways, it’s my dream job. My professional duties bridge the divide between the shooting company on set and the prep that continues back at the costume department for upcoming scenes on the shooting schedule.

I’m a made-to-order specialist, which means I’m responsible for overseeing the construction for all costumes made for our movie. I work closely with the costume designer to create the look for the film. I also do research, I source fabrics and other materials to make the clothing, and I spend a lot of time in workrooms with the artisans who do the actual construction.

One of the things I love most about my job is that every day feels new and different. Every movie is a unique world unto itself with its own set of challenges and personalities. But the resulting chemistry on any given project is also unpredictable, and there have been a few issues with this superhero movie I’m currently working on that concern me.

In fact, the whole movie company has been under a lot of pressure, between late casting, lack of prep time, and a director with an ego as big as his box office grosses. Then there’s my ex, Eli Logan, who’s the first assistant director. I knew I’d be working with Eli and his new girlfriend, Courtney Lisle, the second assistant director, before I agreed to take the job. And I decided I could handle the situation because I try to keep my workplace relationships strictly professional.

But Courtney has gone out of her way to antagonize me. Just this morning, on the first day of principal photography, tensions boiled over between us. We disagreed about the best way to present the background players in costume to the director at the start of each day, and the argument got heated. Unfortunately, we quarreled at craft service in front of a lot of other people in the movie company. In hindsight, I admit we were both at fault.

That’s why I drove all the way back to the shooting location this evening, to talk to her in person and resolve our differences. But now that I’m at the set, no one seems to know where she is. When she wasn’t in the AD trailer, I started searching through base camp, trying to find her. I’m worried because the company’s wrapped, and I want to catch Courtney before she leaves for the day. I don’t want to let the bad blood between us linger overnight.

One of the grips said he saw her at the café set up by the beach. But the cafe’s locked, nobody’s around, and I’ve run out of places to look. So I’ve stepped onto the sand hoping to feel a scrap of the serenity I always find in the natural rhythm of the breaking waves. But I can’t shake my anxiety, the hard knot of dread that’s settled in my chest. I have this terrible feeling that it’s already too late.

Final Cut, A Hollywood Mystery Book #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: June 2023
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

Perfect for fans of Elle Cosimano and Nita Prose, when Hollywood costumer Joey Jessop stumbles across a dead body near the set of a big budget movie, she must find ways to protect her career—and herself—before it’s too late.

Joey Jessop enjoys working behind the scenes. As key costumer for the next epic superhero movie, her role is to make others look good while staying out of the spotlight. That means making sure to be professional around Eli Logan, her ex and the First Assistant Director, and Courtney Lisle, Eli’s newest love interest and the Second Assistant Director. But this isn’t a problem for Joey—especially when the movie is shooting at a gorgeous Malibu location.

All of that changes when Joey finds Courtney’s dead body on the first day of principal photography and she soon becomes the primary suspect. When the press takes hold of the story and social media begins to run with it, Joey watches her well-ordered life behind the scenes become front and center for all to see. But that isn’t even the worst of it. In the midst of this newfound and unfortunate stardom, she must also contend with the reckless behavior of the movie’s predatory director and producer, Marcus Pray, who seems driven to continue his practice of making another blockbuster hit while making sure his crew endures a toxic and potentially lethal work environment. As a result, Joey finds herself embattled both personally and professionally.

With tensions building on set and a murder investigation looming over her life and future, Joey takes it upon herself to clear her name. Will she be able to expose the truth before it’s a wrap?

Meet the author
Marjorie McCown spent more than 25 years in Hollywood working as a key member of the costume design teams for a string of successful movies that includes Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, The Firm, A Bronx Tale, Wag the Dog, The Aviator, Angels & Demons, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and X-Men Days of Future Past. Her debut murder mystery, Final Cut, is set behind-the-scenes of a blockbuster Hollywood movie in production. Marjorie is a member of Sisters-in-Crime and Mystery Writers of America.

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