03/20/2023

In Paul’s appealing if overlong debut, a Black Hollywood family reckons with a surprising and complicated past. The St. Johns live in a Bel Air mansion that features a garden maze and a Ferris wheel. Elise is the family’s latest star of the silver screen and up for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her mother, Sarah, is also a storied actor, while her father, James is a renowned musician. Elise is preoccupied with managing her image and avoiding the paparazzi, until the death of neighbor Kitty Karr, Elise’s beloved mentor, who leaves a fortune to Elise and her two sisters. As Elsie goes through Kitty’s journals, the narrative winds back to Kitty’s hardships in 1930s North Carolina and mid-century Hollywood glamour, and Elise learns that while Kitty passed as white, she was actually a light-skinned Black woman. Though Paul crowds the narrative with far too many underdeveloped characters and makes a few too many implausible plot leaps, she ably describes Kitty’s transformation and unflinchingly details the racism, misogyny, and exploitation Kitty faced as a young woman. Though a bit clunky, the dramatic story and hefty subject matter would make a fine adaptation to the silver screen. (May)

REESE'S BOOK CLUB MAY 2023 PICK
BOOK OF THE MONTH MAY 2023 PICK
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Booklist Editors' Choice: Adult Books, 2023
Named one of the Chicago Public Library's Best Books of 2023
ELLE, "The 20 Best Mystery Books to Read for Your Inner Sleuth"
The Root, "May 2023 Books By Black Authors We Can't Wait to Read"
POPSUGAR, "New Mystery Books That'll Have You on the Edge of Your Seat"
Book Riot, "12 Book Clubs' Excellent Picks for May 2023"


"Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is an intoxicating and seductive debut, drawing you into an underground Hollywood world that is as glamorous as it is dangerous. Kitty Karr is an iconoclastic, complicated, and fascinating woman, whose legacy is as relevant as ever today. Crystal Smith Paul is a thrilling new voice in fiction and I cannot wait to see what she does next."
—Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Carrie Soto Is Back

"An ambitious novel, illuminating the complexities of racial identity, particularly what it means to be Black in Hollywood no matter the era. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to know more about Hollywood’s hidden history."
—New York Times Book Review

"Propulsive and entertaining, with broad historical relevance and critical cultural significance, this is the uniquely American story we all need to read—it holds a piece of all of us. I absolutely loved it and will be looking forward to more from Crystal Smith Paul."
—Jayne Allen, bestselling author of Black Girls Must Die Exhausted

"An engrossing saga, Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? explores the heartbreaking sacrifices that one woman must make in order to succeed in the Golden Age of Hollywood—and the way in which her difficult choices echo throughout later generations. Crystal Smith Paul's debut about family, celebrity, and racism—both historic and modern—captivates."
—Marie Benedict, bestselling author of The Mitford Affair and coauthor of The Personal Librarian

"The witty and sensational Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? marks Crystal Smith Paul as a brilliant new talent to watch."
—Kalisha Buckhanon, bestselling author of Speaking of Summer and Running to Fall

"A compelling odyssey into the consequences our choices can have across history and generations, the moral complexities of those choices, and the devastating secrets hidden behind even the most glamorous and opulent of lives and the most 'pristine' family trees. An immensely entertaining debut."
—Christine Pride, coauthor of We Are Not Like Them

"Paul’s debut is a riveting, often heartbreaking tale that explores race, privilege, and celebrity in America through the eyes of a one-of-a-kind character. Readers of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Piper Huguley will be enthralled."
—Booklist, starred review

"Paul’s sprawling multigenerational debut hits the ground running with a peek at the complicated family life of an iconic, privacy-seeking clan of Hollywood stars: the St. Johns. . . . With a plot worthy of a miniseries, an extensive cast, and a historical sweep, Paul succeeds in entertaining as well as enlightening."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Paul’s novel highlights the burden and loss of racism by focusing on the color line and passing."
—Library Journal

"[U]nflinchingly details the racism, misogyny, and exploitation Kitty faced as a young woman."
—Publishers Weekly

"The characters and the twists and turns of their lives kept me turning the pages to the end. This is one that readers will be talking about for a long time. I loved every page."
—Victoria Christopher Murray, bestselling coauthor of The Personal Librarian and author of more than 30 novels

02/01/2023

DEBUT Accepting and loving oneself can be very difficult when you grow up in the public eye. This is true of Elise St. John, one of three sisters who have been rich and famous since birth because of their parents' talents. Now she's been nominated for an Oscar that could expand her successful acting career, but she's not sure if that's what she wants. To complicate matters, her neighbor and friend Kitty Karr, a retired successful movie and TV star and writer, has died and left Elise and her sisters her multimillion-dollar estate. No one can figure out why an aging white actress would bestow her immense inheritance on three Black girls, but Kitty has left Elise in charge of settling her estate. In the process, Elise discovers something about Kitty that she didn't know and finds herself as well. This story takes place in two different eras and goes back and forth between the two. VERDICT Paul's novel highlights the burden and loss of racism by focusing on the color line and passing.—Laura Ellis

2023-02-08
Hidden behind the glitz and glamour of 1950s Hollywood were real lives (and heartbreaking, necessary, lies).

Paul’s sprawling multigenerational debut hits the ground running with a peek at the complicated family life of an iconic, privacy-seeking clan of Hollywood stars: the St. Johns. The three St. John daughters—Elise, Giovanni, and Noele— have gathered at the family’s fabulous (complete with Ferris wheel!) compound to attend a memorial service for former film star Kitty Karr Tate, their beloved elderly next-door neighbor. In addition to the regular and intrusive press coverage to which the family is subjected, the media is anxious to find out why the three Black St. John girls have inherited all of their White neighbor’s phenomenally huge estate. Superstar Elise, who was particularly close to Kitty, is tasked with combing through the star’s trove of memorabilia and possessions, which may provide some clues. Paul’s narrative circles back to trace Kitty’s coming-of-age story and her ascent to the starry stratosphere she reached in the 1950s. The harshness of the studio system, with all of its attendant misogyny and racism, is obvious. What is less obvious, by design, are the steps many people took to create new lives for themselves once they reached LA from less hospitable places. Against an origin story of sexual violence and systemic roadblocks, Kitty and her California cohort survive a series of excruciating trials in order to live their dreams. The results of their choices, made in order to succeed and survive in the Hollywood machine, echo for generations throughout Paul’s meandering yet page-turning narrative. Perhaps more poignant are the brave and strategic choices made by prior generations of women determined to secure better lives for their children with no assurances that those choices would be rewarded.

With a plot worthy of a miniseries, an extensive cast, and a historical sweep, Paul succeeds in entertaining as well as enlightening.