Masquerade

The suspenseful tale of a vengeful criminal long believed dead, set against the backdrop of turbulent post-World War 1 France and Roaring Twenties Hollywood, where Universal's super-production of a horror classic starring Lon Chaney is being sabotaged at every turn.
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"Gets right down to business from the first page and rapidly develops into an inventive re-invention of The Phantom of the Opera. A mix of the real and the unreal, tied together with a magic thread, this is a must for lovers of both the classic story and silent Hollywood." - David McGillivray, actor, producer, playwright, screenwriter and film critic

"This gripping fiction blends seamlessly with Hollywood fact in the 1920s as a tense murder melodrama centers around a psychopath long thought dead and the French inspector nemesis on his trail – with vivid bit parts for a feisty entertainment reporter, an innocent ingénue, and the "man of a thousand faces" himself: Lon Chaney Sr. A  thoroughly enjoyable read." - Elias Savada, co-author of Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, "Hollywood's Master of the Macabre"

"Masquerade is a wonderful thriller that transports you from Paris, France to Hollywood during the glory days of silent film. Only a movieland insider like John McCarty could convincingly introduce us to stars like Lon Chaney while maintaining an iron grip of unrelenting suspense. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, while loving every one of them!" - Joseph A. Citro, author of The Gore, Shadow Child, and Lake Monsters