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d_audy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
3.0
Don't read much about "hard-boiled detectives" but can be interesting from time to time. It was an okay story and quite entertaining in parts. Not a new favorite but will probably continue with the series
tien's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
greenblack's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
brianlokker's review against another edition
4.0
In 1940, Errol Flynn is one of Warner Brothers’ biggest stars. His movie Sea Hawk has just been released. He is also a well-known lothario, so it’s not all that surprising when he is threatened with blackmail over a photo purporting to show him in flagrante delicto with a very young teenage girl. To avert the potential devastating publicity, the studio decides to pay the blackmailer for the photo and its negative and hires private detective Toby Peters to discreetly handle the transaction.
Unfortunately, getting the photo and negative back is not as simple as Toby and the studio expected. Toby is soon mixed up in several murders, and he suspects that the swashbuckling Flynn himself may be next on the hit list.
Besides Flynn, lots of other real-life movie people appear in the story, some with significant roles. Several popular movies figure in the plot: Flynn is now making Santa Fe Trail with Michael Curtiz; Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, and Jerome Cowan are on location with Raoul Walsh filming High Sierra; Gary Cooper and Edward Arnold are on the Warner Bros. set for Frank Capra’s Meet John Doe; and Peter Lorre is preparing for John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon. Toby also meets Edward G. Robinson, a young Don Siegel, and others.
Kaminsky throws in an occasional sly dig at Hollywood. For example, when (fictional) producer Sid Adelman screens an independent production of Peer Gynt, he asks the name of the kid in the movie. His assistant tells him that it’s Charlton Heston (who was only 17 at the time and wouldn’t make his mark in Hollywood for another 10 years). “‘Jesus,’ groaned Sid. ‘I wonder who made that name up.’”
As a fan of both classic movies and hard-boiled detective stories, I really enjoyed this book. Kaminsky’s depiction of Hollywood in 1940 seems very authentic. I’m inclined to believe that his depictions of the real-life actors with whom Toby interacts are also true to life. None of this is surprising, since Kaminsky also wrote nonfiction books about Hollywood and the movies.
The book is a quick read, a solid mystery story that delivers a good helping of suspense and humor too. I highly recommend it, especially for readers who enjoy classic movies as well as mysteries.
Unfortunately, getting the photo and negative back is not as simple as Toby and the studio expected. Toby is soon mixed up in several murders, and he suspects that the swashbuckling Flynn himself may be next on the hit list.
Besides Flynn, lots of other real-life movie people appear in the story, some with significant roles. Several popular movies figure in the plot: Flynn is now making Santa Fe Trail with Michael Curtiz; Humphrey Bogart, Ida Lupino, and Jerome Cowan are on location with Raoul Walsh filming High Sierra; Gary Cooper and Edward Arnold are on the Warner Bros. set for Frank Capra’s Meet John Doe; and Peter Lorre is preparing for John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon. Toby also meets Edward G. Robinson, a young Don Siegel, and others.
Kaminsky throws in an occasional sly dig at Hollywood. For example, when (fictional) producer Sid Adelman screens an independent production of Peer Gynt, he asks the name of the kid in the movie. His assistant tells him that it’s Charlton Heston (who was only 17 at the time and wouldn’t make his mark in Hollywood for another 10 years). “‘Jesus,’ groaned Sid. ‘I wonder who made that name up.’”
As a fan of both classic movies and hard-boiled detective stories, I really enjoyed this book. Kaminsky’s depiction of Hollywood in 1940 seems very authentic. I’m inclined to believe that his depictions of the real-life actors with whom Toby interacts are also true to life. None of this is surprising, since Kaminsky also wrote nonfiction books about Hollywood and the movies.
The book is a quick read, a solid mystery story that delivers a good helping of suspense and humor too. I highly recommend it, especially for readers who enjoy classic movies as well as mysteries.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
3.0
Toby Peters, Hollywood private investigator, debuts in this 1940s-era murder and blackmail fest. He's hired by Sid Adelman of Warner Brothers to make a blackmail payment drop on behalf of Errol Flynn. Someone has a photo and a negative of Flynn with a very young girl in a very compromising position. They're both naked as the day they were born. Adelman and Flynn both claim it's a fake, but they won't be able to prove it until they can examine the negative. So, Toby is hired to drop off the cash and take possession of the print and its negative. If anything goes wrong, he must not mention the studio or Flynn.
What could go wrong? He makes the scheduled appointment, hands over the cash, gets an envelope in return, starts to check the contents...and gets bashed on the head. When he comes to, his gun is gone, the blackmailer is dead--apparently shot with Toby's gun, and the cash and the photo envelope are MIA as well. His brother is a cop, so he manages to wiggle out of a murder rap, but his brother isn't exactly happy with the story he's been told. Which is, naturally, lies from beginning to end since Toby can't mention what he was really there for.
Peters sets off to find the original of the negative and the trail leads him through the film world and, eventually, to the set of The Maltese Falcon, where Bogie and Lorre are cast in roles they hadn't planned on. Errol Flynn gets to play they hero's role at the end, saving our P.I. from a final attempt on his life.
This is a fun romp through 1940s Hollywood for mystery and movie fans. It's also good for readers who like a bit of light hard boiled P.I. action. I must say, however, that Peters is pretty bad at being a tough guy hero--he gets shot at, knocked out, beat up, and framed for murder more often in one book than most detectives do over the course of a series--and Errol Flynn has to save him from the bad guy in the end. But it does make for entertaining reading. And the homage to the glittering silver screen stars of the past was really well done--the cameos didn't feel forced and definitely worked with the story.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
What could go wrong? He makes the scheduled appointment, hands over the cash, gets an envelope in return, starts to check the contents...and gets bashed on the head. When he comes to, his gun is gone, the blackmailer is dead--apparently shot with Toby's gun, and the cash and the photo envelope are MIA as well. His brother is a cop, so he manages to wiggle out of a murder rap, but his brother isn't exactly happy with the story he's been told. Which is, naturally, lies from beginning to end since Toby can't mention what he was really there for.
Peters sets off to find the original of the negative and the trail leads him through the film world and, eventually, to the set of The Maltese Falcon, where Bogie and Lorre are cast in roles they hadn't planned on. Errol Flynn gets to play they hero's role at the end, saving our P.I. from a final attempt on his life.
This is a fun romp through 1940s Hollywood for mystery and movie fans. It's also good for readers who like a bit of light hard boiled P.I. action. I must say, however, that Peters is pretty bad at being a tough guy hero--he gets shot at, knocked out, beat up, and framed for murder more often in one book than most detectives do over the course of a series--and Errol Flynn has to save him from the bad guy in the end. But it does make for entertaining reading. And the homage to the glittering silver screen stars of the past was really well done--the cameos didn't feel forced and definitely worked with the story.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
carolsnotebook's review against another edition
3.0
It's a sylish mystery, breezy, full of name-dropping and authentic setting touches, but for me it was just meh. A cute enough way to pass the time, but not outstanding.
jonjeffryes's review against another edition
5.0
Found this favorite series from my teen years on my library’s e-book platform. Toby Peters is a PI in the school of Marlowe and Sam Spade serving the stars of 30s and 40s Hollywood. This first entry has Peters working to disentangle Errol Flynn from a blackmail case. Kaminsky captures the dual charms of golden age LA noir and Hollywood.
danielace68's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
sbisson's review against another edition
4.0
Recent Reads: Bullet For A Star. The first of Stuart Kaminsky's Toby Peters novels is a meticulously researched Hollywood detective story. Errol Flynn is being blackmailed and the studio wants it sorted. But bodies are piling up. It's not a simple payoff any more. Star spangled.
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