A Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational Afterlife

By: Jamie Steinberg

Henrietta Newhouse wants to be a star. She isn’t seeking out stardom for fame or fortune, but because she wants to be an inspiration to others. As a kid she saw starlets on the movie screens and decided that was her dream. Fast forward to her finally making it big and nothing is what she thought it would be. Kendall Kulper’s book A Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational Afterlife is a cinematic noir tale that mixes, interestingly enough, with the supernatural to bring to life the tale of two dreamers who find themselves star-crossed and in over their heads.

Henrietta Newhouse has decided to leave her life in Chicago behind for a new one in Hollywood. She has one a contest for a screen-test and she is determined that it will be her big break. However, the moment she steps into this new city things go from right to wrong. Yet she is able to make lemonade out of lemons and still gets that chance at stardom when she meets Miriam “Midge” Powell. Sadly, that is also when her life gets turned upside down. When she winds up on the set of Midge’s new movie she has a chance encounter with the CEO of Silver Wing Studios, which sets in motion her movie star career. It is also how she meets stuntman Declan “Duke” Collins. He works at the studio and is assigned to be her boyfriend…That’s right, the studio will pay him to take her out on the town and pretend to be her beau in order to gain buzz for their new beauty. What could go wrong? Well, a lot. First, Declan has actually come to the studio so he can find out what happened to his mother who once was a chorus girl who never came back home to claim her young son. He’s determined to find out if something happened to her because of the studio or if she just chose not to be a mother. The other interesting thing is that Declan seems to be invincible. As a stuntman he’s been run over by horses, and he’s even jumped off a VERY high building where he was impaled but luckily left not a scratch on him.

Another issue at play here is that it seems that Silver Wing Studios has a habit of making troublesome starlets disappear. That includes Midge it seems…How do we know that? Well, it seems that from the moment she stepped on the studio lot that Henrietta Newhouse, or as the studio has renamed her “Etta Hart,” is able to see these fallen females. They have begun to visit her, Midge as well, to let her know how they lost their lives. Etta has developed an unfair characterization of being difficult so she is worried she and Declan are worried she may be the studio’s next target. Plus, there is the tiny added issue that she’s developed real feelings for her fake boyfriend.

Author Kulper does a good job of captivating the reader. You are eager to read page after page to find out if Henrietta finds success, if she can get justice for the woman who have lost their lives at the hand of the studio and if love prevails. Readers genuinely invest in this heroine and want the best for her. However, there are one or two bones of contention that I have with this tale. First, we never find out how Henrietta has earned her abilities to connect “beyond the veil” and second, we never learn how Declan is unable to be harmed. Usually, there is some sort of origin story for these kinds of things, but here we are never told as to how these magical abilities arise.

A Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational Afterlife is the tale of two dreamers looking to reach the stars. Whether it is Henrietta becoming the on-screen legend she always wanted to be or Declan finding his missing mother, page after page is an investment in a wonderous tale of love and justice. Pick up this pager turner and spend a day by the pool or on the porch following along with this sci-fi tale that is filled to the brim with heart.