The Dream Factory

In 1938 Chicago, Eve Handel is engaged to marry Arthur Burdsey who she met four years ago as he was entering Northwestern. However, co-owners of Pad-Dar movie studio Peter Padron and John Darius invite Eve to come out to California to work for them. Though a difficult decision for a single young woman, Eve ends her engagement and journeys to Hollywood. Over the next three plus decades, Eve evolves into a major player in the movie industry as her ability to find talent is uncanny. Many individuals from different walks of the Hollywood life turn to Eve with their worries and darkest confidences, knowing she will never reveal what she learned and will provide needed solace. However, in 1972 Eve lies in a Los Angeles hospital with what at first appears to be a heart attack. Many of the people she has assisted over the years wish for Eve's speedy recovery for different reasons. Some want it out of love and respect for someone who has always provided a safety net for the industry's workers. Others fear that the rumored journal that Eve allegedly maintained over the years will rock the community if it lands in the wrong hands and secrets are revealed. This reviewer expected to invoke the fifty-page rule on THE DREAM FACTORY, but instead was pleasantly surprised by a well-written novel that provides entertaining insight into thirty plus years of Hollywood. The story line will remind readers of Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives novels though much less spicy and titillating. Renowned actress Janet Leigh leaves the audience guessing who the characters are actually based on, but no exposes in this engaging bit of fluff.Harriet Klausner