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From New York Times bestselling author Sarah McCoy—a spellbinding novel based on a true story: a beautiful young movie star of Hollywood’s Golden Age gives up her bright career to become a nun.
In 1969, twenty-three-year-old starlet Lori Lovely, the apple of Hollywood’s eye, shocks the world by ditching a promising film career to take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a Benedictine nun. Gossip columnists and scandal sheets can’t get enough of the story. Why would such a beautiful girl take the veil? Was she hiding from someone? Did it have anything to do with the tragic death of her costar, heartthrob singer Lucas Wesley?
In 1990, Lu Tibbott is under the gun to complete her senior thesis in modern American history. Instead of spending weeks in dusty archives, Lu decides to dig into a true twentieth-century mystery and write about her aunt Lori, now the Mother Abbess at a cloistered convent in rural New England. Biographers, journalists, and media types have long speculated about her aunt Lori’s sudden departure from Hollywood. Mother Lori, however, has refused all requests for interviews—until Lu arrives at the abbey with a tape recorder in hand. To her delight, Mother Lori announces she’s finally ready to talk…but only if Lu is truly ready to listen.
Lu is shocked to discover that the story of Lori Lovely’s rise in Hollywood was far more tumultuous than she’d ever expected, a fairy tale twisting with ambition, unforeseen alliances, forbidden love, and secrets. What began as a history thesis now threatens to upend all their lives with its unexpected truths, especially as the media gets wind of Lu’s project and begins to ask…
Whatever happened to Lori Lovely?
“A mesmerizing tale of glamour, secrets, and reinvention, I absolutely loved it. This is the kind of novel you can’t wait to see on the big screen. C’mon Hollywood, make it happen!”
—JAMIE FORD, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
“Sarah McCoy possesses that rare gift of drawing you straight into her narrative from the very first pages with her impeccable sense of place and characters. I loved this story with its two riveting timelines: golden Hollywood of the 60’s and family secrets coming back like a boomerang in the 90’s: Lori, the aunt, actress turned nun, and Lu, her young studious niece on a quest for her senior thesis. But why did that stunning artist lock herself up in an abbey all those years ago? Lu goes hunting for the truth. I have to admit that I didn’t see that particular end coming and had to grab a Kleenex. This is a beautifully crafted tale of unexpected life-turns, impossible choices, hidden powers of destiny and coming of age. Whatever happened to Lori Lovely? will warm your heart as it did mine. This is Sarah McCoy’s best book.”
— TATIANA DE ROSNAY, New York Times and international bestselling author of Sarah’s Key and Blonde Dust
“A tale with heart deepens to explore questions of love, loyalty, fame and faith.”
— CHARMAINE WILKERSON, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake
“The divine Sarah McCoy has written a novel of heartbreak and hope. Lori Lovely is an ambitious starlet in Hollywood when she is called to become a nun. Her hasty exit from the Hollywood scene raises eyebrows, and years later, the curiosity of her niece, Lu Tibbot. Lu makes her aunt the centerpiece of her senior thesis. As Lu chips away at the truth of her aunt’s life, secrets are revealed and loyalty is tested, leading to a bombshell discovery that will change Lu’s life forever. Sarah McCoy has done it again! Brava!“
—ADRIANA TRIGIANI, New York Times bestselling author of All the Stars in the Heavens
“Sarah McCoy brings to life one of Hollywood’s golden ages, the 1960s, in this delightful tale of a starlet who trades the movies for the monastery, leaving her forlorn fans wondering why. Part mystery, part history, it’s always a joy.“
— CHRIS BOHJALIAN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Jackal’s Mistress
“In the enchanting Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely?, bestselling author Sarah McCoy spins an absorbing tale of a college senior adrift in her life who hopes she’ll find meaning in the story of her beloved aunt, a Benedictine nun who was once the biggest movie star in the world before she vanished from public view. What unfolds as young Lu begins asking questions is an emotional story of young love, Hollywood glamour, heart-wrenching betrayal, and devastating tragedy, all set to the backdrop of the 1960s film industry. Inspired in part by McCoy’s long correspondence with Mother Dolores Hart—a real-life Benedictine nun who was a movie star in the late 1950s and early 1960s, making her film debut opposite Elvis Presley—Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? sparkles with an enticing blend of Hollywood glamour and deeper callings, as both Lori Lovely and her niece, Lu, ask themselves who they’re really meant to be.”
— KRISTIN HARMEL, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau
“I knew this novel would be fun (who doesn’t love an ingénue turned movie star turned nun?), but it was so much more than that. It was a balm for the spirit, a beautifully-written, moving, page-turner that I didn’t want to end. Lori Lovely is a blueprint for how to create joy and meaning in a troubled world. I loved this book!”
— JEANINE CUMMINS, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Speak to Me of Home
“Sarah McCoy has given readers a precious gift with this novel, plunging us deep into the beating heart of Hollywood’s golden era and its unlikely leading lady. Rich in atmospheric detail, full of high-stakes drama, and sprinkled with the magic of McCoy’s lyrical and lush storytelling, this one will stay with you long after you’ve savored the final page. Heartfelt and charming— what a beautiful journey it is to find out all that happened to Lori Lovely!”
— ALLISON PATAKI, New York Times bestselling author of Finding Margaret Fuller
“Take one small town girl, add a Hollywood breakout role, romance with a dazzling costar, and throw in a sudden disappearance behind the walls of a convent and what do you get? You get Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely, the poignant and captivating new novel by the ever-so-talented Sarah McCoy. Through Lovely’s U-turn from the tumultuous world of movie stardom to the fulfilled life of a nun, McCoy deftly asks the eternal question: are we bodies possessed of souls or are we souls briefly passing through human bodies? Whatever you decide, I know you will love this tender and deeply reflective novel as much as I did!”
— DEBORAH GOODRICH ROYCE, nationally bestselling author of Reef Road
“I love a good story about a woman with a complicated past, especially one that takes its inspiration from real life events and resonates with meaning and emotion. What could be better than a starlet becoming a nun after the curious death of a co-star? As Lu unravels the mystery of her aunt’s sudden exit from 1960’s Hollywood, she not only finds the answers she seeks for her senior thesis—she finds herself.”
— BRENDA NOVAK, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer That Changed Everything
“Lori Lovely was a young girl who shot to international stardom on the silver screen, only to abruptly quit show business to become a nun. Years later, her niece comes to interview Lori for a thesis, and to find answers to long-held questions. With a completely unique premise and richly woven details, each page of Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? leaves the reader hungry for more. Sarah McCoy has another best-seller!”
— MARY WEBBER O’MALLEY, Host/Producer and Bookseller at Skylark Bookshop
“Sarah McCoy tells the captivating story of Lori Lovely, a Hollywood sensation in the 1960’s who shockingly turned her back on fame to join a cloistered convent. Now, as Mother Lori, she agrees to share the truth of her to her niece, Lu, for her college thesis. Inspired by a true story, Sarah, at the top of her writing game, shines in her storytelling, peeling back the layers of Lori’s journey. Readers will be riveted, surprised and hugely satisfied by the glamour of old Hollywood and the realities of the world. Sure to be a book club favorite about the choices we make and the paths we follow.”
— RON BLOCK, Cuyahoga County Public Library/Contributor to the Friends and Fiction Show
“This deeply moving story of one woman’s journey from actress to nun and her niece’s journey to understanding her turns the written word into wonderful prose, and 1960s Hollywood into something we can touch and feel and breathe.”
—MEG WAITE CLAYTON, internationally bestselling author of Typewriter Beach
“When you are in the hands of a confident, compassionate, and gifted storyteller, you get to travel to places you never dreamed of going. Rome. Hollywood in the 60’s. Drama school in London. A Benedictine monastery in Connecticut. I had the TREMENDOUS pleasure of time traveling to all these marvelous places thanks to Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? Start to finish, this is a tale as old as love itself, with starry faces, events, and landmarks to keep you completely immersed in this love story, and a shock twist at the heart that knocked my socks off. Not only is it beautifully told—it’s beautifully written, too. If you’re into star-crossed love stories writ large: buckle up. You’re gonna LOVE it. Brava brava Sarah McCoy!”
—ANDY CORREN, author of Dirtbag Queen
“McCoy’s (Mustique Island) heartwarming dual-timeline novel, based partially on the life of Mother Dolores Hart, who acted in a film with Elvis Presley before becoming a Benedictine nun, is for readers who like their Hollywood tearjerkers sprinkled with themes of faith, family, and love.”
—LIBRARY JOURNAL
“Inspired by the actual lives and careers of three Hollywood actresses, best-selling McCoy (Mustique Island, 2022) tenderly portrays the anxiety produced when what-if becomes what’s next?”
—BOOKLIST
“Entertaining! McCoy ably evokes the glitter and grit of mid-century moviemaking.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“Thanks to McCoy’s emotionally resonant prose and careful, tender character studies, this compelling work is elevated to something nearly as spiritual and meaningful as the very vows Lori takes… WHATEVER HAPPENED TO LORI LOVELY? is perfect for book clubs, readers of Taylor Jenkins Reid, and fans of Old Hollywood, particularly those who like their historical fiction gritty and realistic, but with a tender, heartrending throughline that celebrates womanhood, faith and love in all its forms.”
—BOOKREPORTER
“Sarah McCoy’s charming seventh novel, Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely?, combines a lush, compelling story of young love and Hollywood glamour with a quiet, nourishing narrative of a woman who found her true vocation thousands of miles from stardom.”
—SHELF AWARENESS
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