This is one of the most original and well-researched books I have read in some time. Mark Ebner starts with one fairly publicized crime - the kidnapping of Joe Francis - and unweaves a vast web of the characters, businesses, crimes, and stars that all are somehow related to this crime. In doing so, he paints a fascinating, if not downright scary, picture of modern day Hollywood.This is not quick read. It is 285 pages and the words go the entire length of the page; if it was printed like a regular book, it would probably be 350+ pages. However, despite its length, it is truly fascinating. Ebner did A LOT of research for this book. The story just keeps getting more and more interesting, and Ebner has a gift of describing the people and events in the book in such a way that you feel you are watching a movie about all of this.The only critique I have of this book is whether it can be called 'non-fiction.' Even Ebner admits that he doesn't know if many of these stories are actually true - indeed, his muse (Darnell Riley) is sitting in a prison and clearly has reason to exagerrate his claims. But to Ebner's credit, he admits all of this and is extremely honest with the reader. Many writers would just pass a story like this off as a "100% true" but Ebner admits this probably isn't the case.In the end, though, it just doesn't matter how "true" this entire story is because no one will ever really know. The beauty of this book is every single story, every single chapter, and every single connection, ranges from intersting to very intersting to downright fascinating. It is a very good book and if you are interested in the 'true' Hollywood or like crime stories, you need to read it. I really look forward to Ebner's next book. He is a very talented writer.