My Goodreads review: The Seventh Veil of Salome

The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


[Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance e-copy in exchange for an honest review.]

The lives of three young women -- two residing in 1950s film-mad Los Angeles, one inhabiting a Biblical past -- intertwine in this noir thriller with distinct feminist undertones. When Mexican newcomer Vera Larios is chosen to portray Salome in a major studio's sword & sandals epic, she runs afoul of Nancy Hartley, an experienced bit player with a racist streak and a nasty temper. Nancy had expected the role for herself, and her ego is far larger than Vera's. Through no fault of her own, Vera also collects a second enemy when she refuses to submit to her leading man's entitled advances.

Interspersed with the stories of both actresses are glimpses of the court life of Salome herself. The tone of these is more than a bit Technicolor. Salome has two aspiring suitors, a lecherous uncle, and a passion for the doomed prophet Jokanaan, but her interior life still manages to mirror Vera's and Nancy's. As all three young women hurtle toward fates hinted at (but never disclosed) from the beginning of the novel, the reader is left wondering who, if anyone, will be left standing.

And most likely guessing wrong.

A note about culture: although racism and sexism are not the plot's main emphasis, Moreno-Garcia's view of 1955 L.A. is in no way sanitized. Nancy's vicious comments about her rival receive far less criticism than they might today, and both Nancy and Vera must cope with men unable to see past their measurements. In true Salome style, Nancy at least manages to weaponize her situation.

This novel is painstakingly researched, with author's comments at the end for those of us who geek out on such things, yet Moreno-Garcia's research never gets in the way of illusion. Above all, The Seventh Veil of Salome is pure dark entertainment. I was expecting to miss the author's usual speculative / supernatural touches, but I never did. I was too busy clicking pages, breath held for the finale.





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