We'll Always Have Murder : A Humphrey Bogart Mystery

Rating:
Summary: No One Messes With Fred C. Dobbs
Review: Taking a page from Stuart Kaminsky's "Toby Peters" mysteries, author Crider builds a fun tale of murder and mayhem in old (1940's) Hollywood with P.I. Terry Cook being ably assisted in solving a tinseltown murder (or two) by none other than Humphrey Bogart. Atmosphere and ambience are first-rate, and Crider succeeds in the trickiest part of his conceit by actually having Bogart SOUND like Bogart, or at least our impression of him, throughout. As a mystery it's about a "3". Astute readers will pick up on the killer fairly quickly if they apply Roger Ebert's "Economy of Characters" theory. But what sets this apart for film buffs is the sense of going behind the scenes and noting the "real" people Crider deftly hides behind his fictional characters. This is promised as the first in a series featuring the star and the hapless detective, and one looks forward to the next installment. One word of caution though, if Ibooks IS planning on future volumes, they REALLY ought to spring for a proofreader! There are so many gaffes within this modest tome, that one often has to apply one's own detective skills towards making sense of some of the sentences (note: Spellcheck alone just ain't gonna cut it, fellas!)
A welcome debut, though. Let's hear it for Bogie & Cook!

Rating:
Summary: No One Messes With Fred C. Dobbs
Review: Taking a page from Stuart Kaminsky's "Toby Peters" mysteries, author Crider builds a fun tale of murder and mayhem in old (1940's) Hollywood with P.I. Terry Cook being ably assisted in solving a tinseltown murder (or two) by none other than Humphrey Bogart. Atmosphere and ambience are first-rate, and Crider succeeds in the trickiest part of his conceit by actually having Bogart SOUND like Bogart, or at least our impression of him, throughout. As a mystery it's about a "3". Astute readers will pick up on the killer fairly quickly if they apply Roger Ebert's "Economy of Characters" theory. But what sets this apart for film buffs is the sense of going behind the scenes and noting the "real" people Crider deftly hides behind his fictional characters. This is promised as the first in a series featuring the star and the hapless detective, and one looks forward to the next installment. One word of caution though, if Ibooks IS planning on future volumes, they REALLY ought to spring for a proofreader! There are so many gaffes within this modest tome, that one often has to apply one's own detective skills towards making sense of some of the sentences (note: Spellcheck alone just ain't gonna cut it, fellas!)
A welcome debut, though. Let's hear it for Bogie & Cook!