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“Danger,” whispered Marlene. “How exciting!”“Danger from some of your guests.” Anna Mae Wong's eyes were dark with foreboding.“That is quite possible,” said Marlene. “I've invited the Marx Brothers.”
New Year's Eve, 1931: Marlene Dietrich, as the reigning queen of Hollywood, sees fit to throw a royal bash in order to show off her legendary legs— and her secret-recipe potato pancakes. Gloria Swanson. Joan Crawford, and Jean Harlow are only a few of the luminaries who grace Marlene's star-studded guest list, and an astrologer's warning of danger serves only to heighten the Blue Angel's spirits. The only danger Marlene foresees avoiding is Groucho Marx after a bit too much Revelry.The danger, however, centers upon the astrologer herself, who upstages her hostess with a dire prediction about a new world war—and is subsequently murdered. But while death may be a show-stopper in some houses, it makes Marlene a detective for the prosecution.Marlene is convinced that the culprit lies among the astrologer's clientele of show-biz greats and political heavies, and with Dietrich determination, the screen siren takes on Hollywood gossips, European power brokers, and Nazi sympathizers in order to find a star-crossed killer. In the barbed and wickedly witty style for which he is known, George Baxt has brought Marlene Dietrich to life in all her riveting charm, lively humor, and hausfraulich love of cooking.