THE GOSSIP COLUMNIST'S DAUGHTER

Robert Fass's performance gives this utterly believable novel the life it deserves. Fictional writer Jed Rosenthal is playing detective--he's curious about why his grandparents, Babs and Lou Rosenthal, and their closest friends, Essee and Irv Kupcinet, suddenly ended a lifelong friendship some years ago. Tracing the two families' histories unveils a series of real events. Kupcinet was a popular Chicago columnist when, in 1963, the body of his daughter, Cookie, an actress, was found beaten and strangled in her Hollywood apartment. Fass delivers the novel's realistic dialogue with conviction. His impressive voicings make conversations sound just the way people talk. Some sentences are even left unfinished. This engrossing story, a twist on autobiographical fiction, is not to be missed. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2025]