I was looking forward The Empty Glass by J. I. Baker. Dealing with the death of Marilyn Monroe in August of 1962, it mixes the actuality of the event with a noir novel that features Deputy Coroner Ben Fitzgerald who believes that Marilyn’s death was murder and is now being covered up. Unfortunately, the delivery of the story was poorly done and I found myself wanting to abandon the book but since it fulfilled a number of challenges for me, I persisted.

The author did raise some interesting questions such as why did it take 5 hours before the police were contacted, who were all of the people that were in her home when the police finally arrived and why did the body appear staged? The author brings Miss Monroe’s association with the Kennedys into the story along with the corruption of the LAPD, and speculation about the role of the Mafia or possibly the FBI in her death. It seems that every conspiracy theory regarding Marilyn Monroe was brought out and held up to the light at one time or another.

I love a good Hollywood style mystery but unfortunately this quest to unravel the various discrepancies surrounding Marilyn Monroe’s “overdose” was difficult to get into and it was just about impossible to sympathize with any of the characters. The author was going for a hard hitting noir style, but he missed the mark and the result was rather a mess.… (more)

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DeltaQueen50 | 8 other reviews | Nov 11, 2022 |

The Empty Glass by J.I. Baker

Does this novel explain the death of Marilyn Monroe? Could be.

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JReynolds1959 | 8 other reviews | Sep 25, 2022 |

LIFE Sherlock Holmes: The Story Behind the World's… by The Editors of LIFE

A really quick read, but also a good summary of both the character of Sherlock Holmes and his fictional world, as well as a solid look into what drove Arthur Conan Doyle to create, and to continue long past his desire to write more Holmes stories.

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TobinElliott | Sep 3, 2021 |

The Empty Glass by J.I. Baker

It takes a lot of skill to wrap a story in a web of intrigue and paranoia, slowly tightening the screws around the main protagonist, boxing them into a corner. If it's done right, it's a spectacularly enjoyable thing to read.

I had a lot of fun with this book. It seamlessly mixes fact and fiction, and constructs a remarkably plausible story surrounding the mystery of Marilyn Monroe's death.

Well done.

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TobinElliott | 8 other reviews | Sep 3, 2021 |

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