This bracing novel takes place against the backdrop of a still-recovering post-World War II America. The setting is 1950s Beverly Hills, a mysterious, alluring enclave of Hollywood luminaries. Seven-year-old Kurt Goldman lives here, too. Unwillingly, he’s pulled into the vortex of a terrible event that returns to haunt him 38 years later, when a murder investigation threatens to unhinge his carefully crafted world. Berton D. Garey’s ingenious narrative, vivid characters, and richly detailed settings make this a memorable sequel — and prequel — to his acclaimed Death Dance.