{"product_id":"2940150300484","title":"Murder In Babylon - A Novel Based on Fact","description":"\"Druxman has taken Hollywood's most famous murder mystery and turned\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eit into a fascinating narrative that is so evocative of 1920’s Tinseltown. His\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efictional \"hero\" guides us on a factual journey that not only reveals why the case\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eremains officially unsolved -- but also identifies the killer!\" -- Thomas B. Sawyer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e– MURDER, SHE WROTE Head Writer\/Showrunner, bestselling author of\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCROSS PURPOSES\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the evening of February 1, 1922, silent film director William Desmond Taylor\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewas shot to death in his Los Angeles home. The murder, coming on the heels of the\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Fatty” Arbuckle scandal, shocked the Hollywood community and the country, resulting\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ein reform groups labeling the film capital a “modern day Babylon,” and demanding that\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003emovies be censored or, in some communities, even banned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe murder itself was never “officially” solved, but subsequent revelations about\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe director’s unsavory past, as well as his recent secret activities that took him into the\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLos Angeles underworld, would keep the case alive in the nation’s press for almost two\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003edecades, and because of their relationship with Taylor, effectively end the careers of two\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003epopular screen stars, Mabel Normand and Mary Miles Minter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBen Birnbaum, a reporter for the Los Angeles Dispatch at the time of the murder,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ecovered the Taylor case for almost two decades; once almost being killed for his efforts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis posthumous memoir details his day-to-day investigation to unravel Hollywood’s\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003emost baffling mystery.","brand":"BearManor Media","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47068356116720,"sku":"2940150300484","price":4.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940150300484_p0.jpg?v=1763742541","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940150300484","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}