Kristian Nairn, who played Hodor (HODOR!!) was such a great actor who brought a challenging character to life. Hodor only spoke one word, "hodor", over and over again, and yet Nairn was able to convey his sweetness and loyalty.
Nairn himself is an interesting person. He grew up in Ireland, raised by a single mom. He worked (and actually continues to work) as a popular DJ. I enjoyed hearing his story and his experiences working on the show.
On that note...GO PACK GO!! 😊
Annie Laurence is a writer who's new to Hollywood. She followed her former boyfriend and girlfriend out after they left New York for a contract at MGM. Obviously they had to keep their relationship hush hush, but critic Fiona Farris reviewed the last play that Annie wrote and made a joke about her sleeping with both the main stars. Fiona is killed one night at the canteen and Annie is a suspect, along with the rest of the group of friends known as the Ambassador's Club.
It was a good mystery, I didn't see the ending coming (but then again, I rarely do). I liked the historical element of it, too. Reading about old Hollywood, even in fiction, is usually fun.
Seven kids, who call themselves the "losers", come together in Derry, Maine, during the summer of 1958. Bill, Richie, Eddie, Ben, Beverly, Mike, and Stan are the kids who are always being picked on by the bullies: Bill stutters, Richie wears glasses, Eddie has asthma, Ben is overweight, Beverly is poor, Mike is Black, and Stan is Jewish. Henry Bowers and his gang torments them, but there's something much worse going on in Derry. Kids are being brutally murdered, including Bill's younger brother, George. And the losers know what is doing it: an evil entity they call "IT". They go after IT and fight it. The murders stop, and the losers part ways.
Twenty-seven years later, IT is back and the losers who made a vow to return if IT wasn't really dead are being called home to once again face off against the eternal evil.
This was the first Stephen King book I read. I was thirteen. It had a very lasting impression on me, and I'm still amazed at what an awesome storyteller King is when he's good. This is one of the great ones.
Manfred met Otash a few years before he died, he lived in the same community as Manfred's parents. Otash was writing a book about his life as an officer with the LAPD, and then as the Private Eye to the stars. Everyone in Hollywood knew if you had a problem that needed immediate, discreet attention, you called Otash. Which is what Peter Lawford did when he discovered Marilyn Monroe's dead body. Otash had the house bugged and heard what happened to her, which Manfred didn't disclose in this book (or I missed it somehow).
After Otash's sudden death, Manfred tried to get his book published, but no one wanted to touch it. Certain powerful people didn't want their dirty laundry aired. I hope it does see the light of day, I'd love to read it. But for now, this will do. Very fascinating.
What really struck me about this book is how people don't have a support network. For instance, one young woman he murdered had an ex-boyfriend and two young children with him. She left home one day and called several times a week until she just stopped in 2006. Her family and friends assumed she had just moved on, but she was actually dead. Her body wasn't discovered until 2015. That's so incredibly sad to me. Those poor kids, growing up, thinking their mom just abandoned them. No one calling the authorities to report her missing. Everyone just assuming she wrote off her old life. What a horrible tragedy all the way around, and then these sick people who prey on vulnerable people like her. At least he's behind bars where he can't hurt anyone else.
