The Sunset Crowd

The latest from Tanabe (A Hundred Suns) follows Bea Dupont and her glittering group of friends, beautiful young women taking 1970s Hollywood by storm. A celebrity photographer, Bea is one of many who orbit Evra Scott, an effortlessly cool It Girl and daughter of Hollywood royalty. Kai de la Faire, a Native Hawaiian whom Bea knew in Swiss boarding school, is also part of their set. Bea has always longed for Kai, but he gravitates toward flashier women like Evra. When the mysterious Theodora Leigh bursts on the scene, dazzling them all, their lives are changed forever. There’s a touch of All About Eve in this novel that pulls listeners in and makes the frustrating obliviousness of Evra’s crowd believable. Sarah Mollo-Christensen narrates in an understated way that easily conveys each character’s personality. Her warm, honeyed voice engages, making those who might otherwise be deemed shallow seem sympathetic. Although the novel is set in the 1970s, Mollo-Christensen’s capable narration makes the tale thoroughly relatable and modern.