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The Dark Ages
Paperback
Publisher Price: $14.99
Publisher: Pathmark Press
Published: Feb 26 2026
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.90
Height: 0.68 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Harrry and Crystal caught in the middle of the McCarthy Hearings
Dennis Broe has done it again. On the one hand, we have his usual electrifying prose, dense atmospheric feel for LA, and sharp plotting. On the other, we have the sneaking sense that the backdrop of the 1950s Hollywood blacklist is becoming our own backdrop-Toby Miller, author of Why Journalism? A Polemic.
Broe's novel, written in the terse, laconic hard-boiled style of Hammett and Chandler, is a gripping insight into the double-dealings, lies and betrayals that permeated Hollywood - and much of American society - during the time of HUAC and the infamous blacklist. Full of evocative descriptions and crisp dialogue, this murder mystery captures the feel of the period, oozing knowledge and understanding about the perfidiousness of studio bosses and the misery their craven conformism inflicted on their creative staff, especially writers--Andrew Spicer, University of Bristol, UK and author of Film Noir
The Dark Ages tells an interesting tale of intrigue during a dark time in US history. The author deftly follows in the hardboiled tradition of detective thrillers, with plenty of twists and turns. All in all, a good read.-Michael D Yates, Editor Monthly Review.
The novel provides a compelling and entertaining blend of private eye fiction (with a few nods to Chandler); expertly researched analysis of the structural roots of the blacklist; and a radical critique with implications for now as well as then. I particularly like the mix of fictional and 'real' figures from that era and the revealing analysis of the way studio heads and others thought about filmmaking and the blacklist at the time-Brian Neve, The Many Lives of Cy Endfield: Film Noir, The Blacklist and Zulu
A damn good job. The writing style works well with the content. It's gripping and, I believe, reflects these events as they would have occurred. Couldn't put it down. And now, of course, I want to read the rest of the series-Diana Anhalt, A Gathering of Fugitives: American Political Expatriates in Mexico 1948-65.
Against the backdrop of a congressional investigation of Hollywood, PI Harry Palmer is hired by a blacklisted writer to collect his money from a cheating front, beginning a trail of murder, betrayal, and lust that will bring Harry and Crystal close to losing their lives.
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