PAST, PRESENT, AND MURDER

by Hugh Pentecost ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1, 1982

Pentecost at his wooden worst--as PR-man-sleuth Julian Quist tries to track down partner Dan Garvey, who himself is hunting for the murderer of his fiancÉe Jeri Winslow (a Barbara Walters-type TV personality). To help in the search, Quist enlists the late Jeri's lesbian assistant June, her lawyer George Meadows, and Eugene Silver--who painted a portrait of Jeri at 13, a portrait which resurfaced at the murder-scene after years of disappearance. And Quist visits the New England town where Jeri's father still lives, learning of the murder and tragedy in the Winslow family's past. Some initially intriguing puzzles (as usual with Pentecost)--but the elaborate case against the killer is implausibly contrived, the last-minute rescue of the good guys (by Quist's NYPD pal Kreevich) is cornball-dumb, and the narrative is dragged down with stilted dialogue and heaps of padding.

Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1982

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1982

Categories: FICTION