MURDER IN THE WINGS

by Edward Gorman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 1986

A disappointing outing for ex-cop, would-be actor Jack Dwyer (New, Improved Murder, 1985), whose role in the latest production at the Bridges Theatre is cut short when director Michael Reeves is murdered after a nasty confrontation with his alcoholic, has-been leading man Stephen Wade. Wade discovered the body, called Dwyer and his bubble-headed girlfriend Donna Harris, then fled the scene. Dwyer, convinced of his friend's innocence and asked by invalid widowed matriarch Leora Bridges to help, sets out to find the killer. Delving into the life of the victim--a sadistic, womanizing blackmailer--he dredges up motives aplenty, some of them involving Leora's neuroses-ridden daughter Sylvia, her nerdy husband David, their daughter Evelyn and leading lady Anne Stewart. Meanwhile, a seedy halfway house for parolees and a lush country cabin owned by Sylvia's psychiatrist provide destinations for Dwyer's frantic to and fro-ing. It's no help; neither is the gratuitous use of street language. Characters remain stiffly remote; the choppy plot barely holds attention; the windup is fuzzy and melodramatic. A letdown--temporary, one hopes--from Gorman's past work.

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION