The Monet Murders
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Hollywood, 1934. Prohibition is finally over, but there is still plenty of crime for an ambitious young private eye to investigate. Though he has a slightly checkered past, Riley Fitzhugh is well connected in the film industry and is hired by a major producer—whose lovely girlfriend has disappeared. He also is hired to recover a stolen Monet, a crime that results in two murders initially, with more to come.Along the way Riley investigates the gambling ships anchored off L.A., gets involved with the girlfriend of the gangster running one of the ships, and disposes of the body of a would-be actor who assaults Riley’s girlfriend. He also meets an elegant English art history professor from UCLA who helps Riley authenticate several paintings and determine which ones are forgeries. Riley lives at the Garden of Allah Hotel, the favorite watering place of screenwriters, and he meets and unknowingly assists many of them with their plots. Incidentally one of these gents, whose nom de plume is ‘Hobey Baker,’ might actually be F. Scott Fitzgerald . . .Evoking the classic hardboiled style, The Monet Murders is a charmingly cosy murder mystery by a novelist whose books the Wall Street Journal called "lucid, beautifully written [and] a pleasure to read."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Some readers may find it tough to take someone calling himself Bruno Feldspar seriously and the fledgling PI using that nom de guerre most decidedly doesn't, part of the charm of this breezy debut noir set in Tinseltown circa 1934. Though there are, as the title promises, multiple stiffs in this deft blend of art theft, adultery, and Hollywood sleaze, Mort (The Hemingway Patrols) generally keeps the banter-filled proceedings as bubbly as the beverage his handsome protagonist frequent shares with a number of knockouts, notably Garbo-esque Myrtle George, whom he has helped nail a studio contract. The intrigue centers on Bruno's investigation into the possible switch of an ersatz Monet with the real deal and, if so, what this might have to do with at least two violent deaths but much of the novel's appeal lies in its rogues' gallery of characters, including raffish British art expert "Bunny" Finch-Hayden and Bruno's hard-boiled part-time secretary, Della, who also runs an escort service. Readers will hope to see more of Bruno.
