A Dream Called Marilyn by Mercedes King
"A dream. A beautiful dream that breaks your heart."
August of 1962. The beautiful Marilyn Monroe will be leaving us soon. Her death will forever be a mysterious conspiracy to some and inevitable suicide, according to the coroner's final report. Will the truth ever be known? Is there someone out there, still alive, concealing the actual facts? Did the red diary ever exist? Could the outcome have been a different one if Monroe would have had a different doctor, one that limited her narcotic intake instead of arming the actress with lethal doses? Or were there sinister plots set in motion to keep Marilyn from talking and exposing those she was rumored to be involved with? And, what DID Marilyn want to say, if this conspiracy is to be believed? Mercedes King's fictional account visits the last week's of Marilyn's life and King puts an interesting spin on things.
Dr. Charles Campbell, psychiatrist, can't believe his good fortune. THE Marilyn Monroe will be in his office for a scheduled appointment. Twentieth Century Fox and studio execs have hired him to get a handle on the out-of-control actress. The studio needs Monroe in a manageable condition. Fuming that Marilyn missed filming to attend a very public birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden, Fox fires Marilyn from the set of Some Like it Hot. Under obligation to complete her contract, studio execs need her in working form and they don't care who or how it gets done. Enter the good doctor.
Dr. Campbell is already fantasizing when Marilyn Monroe enters his office. Although he's coached himself to remain calm and professional, he is completely smitten upon her arrival. Like a dream she enters his world. Like a nightmare, she will leave it.
O.k. Obviously, most of us know every little spec on MM. I know I do. I'm a MAJOR MM fan. Nothing you can tell me that I don't already know. So, I like when new fictional accounts are written about this mesmerizing beauty. For me, she comes alive again once more. While this book covers nothing new about Marilyn, King examines new and fictional possibilities. Hey! It coulda happened. Either way, it's an interesting plot.
* Thanks to NetGalley for approving and sharing a digital review copy in exchange for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
