At a gala party held in memory of screen legend Greta Garbo, Hollywood film detective Valentino is having fun until the host, a hotshot developer named Rankin, tells Valentino about a certain letter from Garbo to his late wife. She and Garbo had been … close. Such a letter is of great interest to a film archivist like Valentino, but the plot thickens when Rankin tells Val that his assistant, Akers, is using this letter to blackmail him. Val is appalled by the thought of blackmail, but that letter sounds juicier all the time. Returning to Rankin's mansion after the party, Val finds Rankin sitting at his desk with a pistol in his hand, looking at Akers' dead body on the floor. Valentino is in a quandary, to say the least.
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“Estleman again ladles on the film history but nicely blends it into the plot. And his supporting cast, including the eccentric Professor Broadbent, supplies delicious comic relief. For anyone with an interest in Hollywood’s golden age, this series is a delight.” — Booklist
“Estleman again ladles on the film history but nicely blends it into the plot. And his supporting cast, including the eccentric Professor Broadbent, supplies delicious comic relief. For anyone with an interest in Hollywood’s golden age, this series is a delight.”
“Shamus-winner Estleman’s captivating second mystery to feature LA film detective Valentino focuses on legendary screen actress Greta Garbo…Readers will eagerly turn the pages.”
“You’ll want to share this delightful Hollywood romp with others…The story’s a lot of fun, and William Dufris gives the lighthearted performance you’d expect. He makes the listener chuckle at all the goings-on right along with him.”
“Second in a series that marks a pleasant departure for the estimable Estleman, who’s spent most of his sixty-plus novels on the dark side.”
" audio -- Leave it alone "
" Second in series of "film detective"- man who preserves old classic films and comes across murderers. Good characters, good story. "
" Good; Continuing character: Valentino; film preservationist gets involved n a killing related to letter purported to be written by Greta Garbo "
" A clever writer but I wish he'd stick to noir. This film archivist is a little cutesy. "
" Not a big fan of the Valentino series. Too slow for my taste. Prefer the Amos Walker series. "
" Another beautifully written story, but enjoyed the first more "
Loren D. Estleman is an award-winning author of mainstream fiction, Westerns, criticism, and mysteries. He has written more than eighty novels, including in the Amos Walker, Page Murdock, and Peter Macklin series. He is the winner of four Shamus Awards, five Spur Awards, three Western Heritage Awards, a Barry Award, the Elmer Kelton Award, two Stirrup Awards, and a Popular Fiction Magazine Outstanding Writer Award. He has received lifetime achievement awards from the Western Writers of America, the Private Eye Writers of America, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and the Arts Alliance of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
William Dufris attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland-Gorham before pursuing a career in voice work in London and then the United States. He has won more than twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards, was voted one of the Best Voices at the End of the Century by AudioFile magazine, and won the prestigious Audie Award in 2012 for best nonfiction narration. He lives with his family in Maine.
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