Shoot
A Valentino Mystery
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A mild-mannered film archivist finds himself caught in a web of blackmail, scandal, and murder in the surreal world of Hollywood.
Valentino, a film archivist at UCLA and sometime film detective, is at the closing party for the Red Montana and Dixie Day museum when he is approached by his hero, western film and television star Red Montana. Red reveals that he is being blackmailed over a scandalous blue film his wife, the wholesome Dixie Day, made early in her career. With Dixie on her deathbed, Red is desperate to save her from embarrassment and offers Valentino a deal - find the movie, and he can have Red's lost film, Sixgun Sonata, that Red has been hiding in his archives. Refuse, and the priceless reel will go up in flames.
Feeling blackmailed himself, Valentino agrees and begins to dig. As he races to uncover the truth before time runs out, his heroes begin their fall from grace. Valentino desperately wants to save Sixgun Sonata... but at what cost? In the surreal world of Hollywood, what is on screen is rarely reality, and Valentino must navigate a treacherous path to solve the mystery and save a legacy.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Estleman's fun fourth Valentino mystery (after 2013's Alive!) finds the UCLA film scholar on the trail of a lost western, Sixgun Sonata, starring the married actors Red Montana and Dixie Day. Southern California's Red Montana and Dixie Day Museum is closing, and Valentino receives an invitation to a farewell gala at the museum a perfect opportunity to meet with Montana and plead for the sole surviving copy of the legendary feature film, rumored to be in Montana's possession. Montana actually screens a portion of Sixgun Sonata and agrees to let Valentino have it but only if Valentino will track down and recover the suppressed porno film that Dixie made before she teamed with Montana and started her career as a squeaky-clean cowgirl. And where is Dixie now? At her home, dying of cancer. Film buffs will revel in Estleman's countless references to Hollywood's greats and not-so-greats. Others may feel overwhelmed by his encyclopedic knowledge.