Bright Star
David C. Smith

David C. Smith is best known around these here parts as a writer of sword and sorcery. But he’s not limited to that genre.

Bright Star is a h istorical mystery, taking place in the nineteen teens and in 2014. It’s the story of a fictional woman, Catherine Farr, a farm girl from Palatine, Illinois, who goes on to become one of the most acclaimed stars and studio owners of the silent era. While Catherine is fictional, she was based on a number of early women pioneers in the silent film era.

At the height of her fame and success, Catherine disappeared just before she was gong to California to see about moving her operations there.

Her studio had been burned down by an unknown arsonist and someone had tried to burn her mansion down. Her more recent films had addressed social issues, which caused a great deal of controversy.

Did she dec ide to give up stardom and retire to a quiet, anonymous life? Was she murdered? If so, by whom? Her bigoted uncle? Her director and lover?

Catherine’s great-nephew is working on a documentary about silent film stars, and he comes to Palatine to find whatever information he can about his aunt. He is soon plunged into a mystery he can’t let go of.

The chapters alternate between the past and 2014. The sections about Catherine’s life are longer, of course, than the ones about her nephew. They cover a great deal more time. Smith does an excellent job of giving his characters depth. While Catherine’s ultimate fate wasn’t a total surprise, it was something of a shock to actually read it and think about everything she wouldn’t accomplish.

The book ends with an interview with David C. Smith. He talks about his influences in literature, but he also goes into the background and history of the silent film era. I hadn’t known that Chicago had a vibrant and active movie industry before the Roaring Twenties.

I’ve read some of Smith’s S&S, and I’ll definitely be reading more. But for something different from this author, I highly recommend Bright Star.