And Introducing Dexter Gaines by Mark B. Perry Review

Emmy, Golden Globe, and GLAAD Award-winning writer Mark B. Perry deftly weaves fictional characters with well-known personalities of Hollywood’s golden age into this powerful and sparkling novel about the wages of flesh and sin.
 

HOLLYWOOD, 1952
 

Blessed with the smoldering good looks that destine him for the silver screen, the unfortunately named Dan Root arrives on the scene as a naïve but ambitious 21-year-old. Mentored and exploited by a powerful and dashing Svengali-like producer and his beguiling wife (a movie star whose career is on the tragic cusp between fame and fade out), Dan is transformed into the promising young actor, Dexter Gaines.
 

Soon their three lives become dangerously entangled by sexual awakening and unrequited love, but when their passion and deceit lead to a crushing discovery and attempted murder, Dexter is forced to choose between stardom and survival. Four decades later, a heartbreaking event compels Dan to return to the city of lost dreams and confront his past. It is only then he begins to unravel the twists and turns of a long-ago emotional mystery, to make peace with his past and his foiled chance at stardom.
 

Mark B. Perry's alternating timelines explore the corrosive confluence of fame, fortune, sexuality, and ill-fated romance in this captivating Capote-esque novel.

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Smith Publicity / Amble Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For all the glitz, glamour, power and fortune the film and greater entertainment industry of Hollywood offered in the 1950’s, it also served far more instances of lies, betrayals, pain, and in Mark B. Perry’s historical fiction novel, heartbreak. Arriving with naturally good looks and big dreams of stardom, And Introducing Dexter Gaines chronicles Dan Root’s life-changing meeting with Hollywood power couple Milford “Milly” Langen and Lillian Sinclair, his persona transformation into future leading man Dexter Gaines, and the harsh consequences that come with a life in the entertainment industry. Historically accurate (at least to my very limited knowledge of the Golden Age of Hollywood), dramatically narrated, and full of fun celebrity appearances, Perry’s novel is a solid historical fiction entry paired with a heartbreaking and moving LGBTQ+/Queer storyline. Well plotted and paced, thematically strong, and executed in an entirely tasteful and classy manner (more on that shortly), I thoroughly enjoyed Perry’s novel and found it to be a very well-rounded and satisfying read.

Before getting into the actual review for And Introducing Dexter Gaines, there are a few important notes to highlight. This novel is an edited and retitled re-release of a previously self-published 2014 novel City of Whores. I am not familiar with this earlier iteration of the story but from what I’ve gathered from reading Perry’s author blog and personal research, the narration was slightly tweaked and the novel renamed to its current title. After having read Perry’s blog and his novel, it’s entirely evident how much an appropriate publisher and marketing can make or break a book’s appeal and sale. Apparently Perry’s agent took discomfort with the graphic depictions of gay sex which was edited down, which oddly enough, probably would’ve better matched the novel’s original title and pitch. However in its current paired down presentation, City of Whores feels entirely inappropriate for the the story that’s essentially one of romantic heartbreak. While I understand the idea behind the eye-catching statement, I actually had reservations picking up this book to read having heard what its original title was. While I personally think Head Dancing in the Urban Idyll has a more romanticized whimsy compared to And Introducing Dexter Gaines, this republished title is worlds better than City of Whores. This is a really good, classy novel and that title does Perry’s writing absolutely no favors.

Now on to the actual review, I’ll be the first to admit that historical fiction and Hollywood’s Golden age are not areas that I’m hugely familiar with or naturally gravitate towards. That being said, it almost doesn’t matter thanks to Perry’s engaging storytelling and narration writing. Apart from the overall plot of Dexter Gaines’s breakthrough in Hollywood and eventual drama and romance, the synopsis doesn’t really reveal much about what actually happens in the story (in my opinion, partly to its detriment). However immediately from the get-go, the story takes off with a dramatic opening chapter with Dexter Gaines discovering famed Hollywood producer Milford Langen passed away in the present day (90’s), then immediately jumping to New Years Eve 1951. Even with no knowledge of what where the story is going, Dexter Gaines is an easy and fun read. Though progressions covering the industry gatekeeping of Hollywood, to adjusting to life in Hollywood, to early film roles and entanglement with professionals, the novel is consistently interesting to read. While the prose is accessible and the story easy enough to follow, there’s an underlying sense of quality and finesse evident everywhere. The writing has a perfect balance of narration/internal thoughts to spoken dialogue and the story never feels like its dragging or overwritten. Besides good pacing, I appreciated the gradual build in intensity and drama that sneaks up on you. Most of the novel consists of Dexter reflecting on how exciting his time with Lillian and Milly in the past, yet the advance knowledge that everything ultimately ends in disaster adds weight to some otherwise seemingly casual encounters. As the drama and conflicting feelings ramp up, the story’s final 150 pages are completely compelling and the conclusion is satisfying and moving.

Another area that I found particularly well-done is the portrayal of historic Hollywood and the film industry. From the visual descriptions of grandeur and wealth at Milly’s estate, to the backlot 20th Century Studios, to the extravagant parties and hushed activities in the shadows, Perry really immerses the reader in the time period that’s both slightly romanticized for nostalgic effect yet also entirely stark and realistic in the areas that matter to the story. It’s hard to describe in words but there’s an inherent sense of class that is layered into every chapter (I loved the descriptions and handling of copious amounts of smoking). An early chapter that features Dexter/Dan walking in on a closed door party of producers discussing the intrusion of the home television set and future TV network on film industry is a perfect example of how detailed the novel’s historical elements are.

The story is also full of celebrities that range from producers, to agents, to actors that all feel relatively well-represented and believable. Again this is not an area that I personally have a lot of knowledge in, for example having no experience with Tallulah Bankhead’s work, but I’ve heard other readers praise and love her appearance in the story so I’ll defer to others on that. Oddly enough, not knowing who majority of the celebrities are made it interesting whenever original fictional characters or productions are introduced in the story. While reading, I would frequently would Google names and movies to try and figure out who and what was original vs historic, Perry’s fictional work is that good and seamless.

As for the original characters, I personally found them to be engrossing to read about and follow. I’ve read a few other reviewers comment that the three focal characters are unlikable and full of themselves, but this is the entertainment industry and Hollywood, what do you expect? In a field that requires people to be physically beautiful and confident, that’s just a mark of appropriate characterization. While the relationships and dynamics between Dexter, Milly and Lillian are the main focus of the story, they’re all uniquely handled and quite interesting. Lillian perhaps has one of the more standard and expected characterization of the three, but the crucial chapters towards the end of the story more than make up for that. And although the story and the dual timeline perspective is all narrated from Dexter’s point of view, Milly is a fascinating character to read about whose eventual funeral Dexter attends in the 1990’s is tragic. Dexter’s conflicted and shifting opinions of Milly over the course of the story (both in the past and present) feels natural, appropriate, and is just another element Perry nails.

Besides the obvious film industry element, the bigger story element is the LGBTQ+/Queer storyline told within the constraints of the 1950’s. As one can imagine, the 1950’s were anything but kind to everything outside of the hetero-normative lifestyle. While reading the story, I will openly admit that I initially wondered if the novel was purposely mislabeled as queer for recent trending marketability considering there was almost no indication or notable content remotely queer. However having read the story, it is 100% there, it just takes some time to get to it at roughly the half-way mark. The delay and lack of queer content early-on is intentional by design, completely for narrative purposes and made its first appearance far more impactful. As one can expect for 1950’s Hollywood, themes of forbidden longing, self-hatred, passion vs responsibility, and the fear of the press are all included and developed well. The book’s synopsis (and to a lesser extent, my review) purposely don’t go into too much detail to avoid giving away crucial plot developments, but what I can say is that Perry’s portrayal of queer Hollywood and characters caught in personal dilemmas are excellent. The complications between the three focal characters, the studio industry, friends and strangers, it’s really well done. The theme of “if only things were different” is powerfully used and the extent of how much Dexter, Milly, and Lillian’s lives are affected by situations out of their control is immense. I would’ve never expected it based on the synopsis or going into the book at the beginning, but Milly and Lillian’s end is heartbreaking and will resonate with any queer or marginalized group, particularly older ones who may unfortunately empathize with their grief and prospective “lost years”.

It’s not really important to the story but I do feel the need to touch on it, as previously discussed with its old City of Whores title, there is adult sexual content but its very tastefully handled and placed. By extension, I also wouldn’t necessarily call it spicy or steamy, but that is clearly not the intent or readership this novel is written for. I would say this is partly a romance-drama genre novel in the traditional sense of it having romantic feelings involved, not the contemporary romance style that is populated on booktok and trending lists. I also read a few other negative reviews, a choice ones being “too gay to be straight and too straight to be gay” that I found utterly laughable. To call this book too straight to be gay is missing the entire point of the story, the historical fiction framework of the 1950’s, and entirely erasing the B and Q in LGBTQ+. I can also see this story resonating powerfully for queer readers who are not publicly out or those that do not fall identify as strictly “gay” (the horrors of being seen and self-hatred some characters experience can and will hit close to home). But even outside of the queer community there’s a lot to like, particularly Lillian’s complex relationships and emotional vs physical love and affection.

As mentioned in my FTC disclaimer above, I received an ARC of this novel to read and review. Out of the ARC’s I’ve reviewed so far, And Introducing Dexter Gaines might be one of the most pleasant surprises and a sleeper hit I ordinarily wouldn’t have casually picked to read (and certainly not when it was titled City of Whores). While the republished version does improve considerably on the initial version, I do think that there are marketing elements that still don’t represent the book as well as they could. The typography and font choice looks a bit unprofessional and cheaply tacked on and the synopsis details of “attempted murder, stardom/survival” feel like a misdirection towards a thriller or a constant Hollywood backstabbing tale (there is betrayal but it’s not in the forefront focus). This is a quality, classy, effectively written and moving queer story that deserves attention and a read when it is publicly published. Expertly crafted and paced, complex and nuanced, and most of all engaging to read, I loved this novel and really have nothing bad to say about it.