A smart, clever Mexican mystery.
A thrilling mystery packed with Hollywood glamour, intrigue and murder, set in 1948 Mexico.
When Hollywood public relations flack Joe Bernardi is sent to the troubled Tampico, Mexico, set of an overhyped, overbudget film called The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, he expects to deal with star Humphrey Bogart’s boozing and womanizing. But when Bogie turns out to be behaving, Joe has little spin-doctoring to do—until one of the movies’ minor stars turns up dead. A man named Jimbo Ochoa is arrested, but Joe doubts the man’s guilt. He does as his P.R. job demands, painting the situation in the best light possible and trying to keep the studio heads from hearing the gory details. However, as he dives deeper into investigation, he uncovers a conspiracy that seems to reach the upper echelons of the Mexican police force. Can Joe solve the murder before the movie wraps and, more importantly, before he’s targeted himself? Fischer (Jezebel in Blue Satin, 2011, etc.) is a former Hollywood screenwriter; his TV credits include Murder, She Wrote and Columbo, and his awards include a 1985 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. It shows—the novel’s dialogue is pithy and tight, and its characters well fleshed out. Although the story features many famous faces (Bogart, director John Huston, actor Walter Huston and novelist B. Traven, to name a few), the plot smartly focuses on those behind the scenes. The big names aren’t used as gimmicks—they’re merely planets for the story to rotate around, flickering in and out of focus. Joe is the star of the show, and this fictional tale in a real-life setting (the actual set of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was also fraught with problems) works well in Fischer’s sure hands. The novel feels like an hour-long drama, and readers will likely become invested in finding out whodunit. This is the second book in the Hollywood Murder Mysteries series, so, fortunately, it may not be the last we see of Joe.
A smart, clever Mexican mystery.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2011
ISBN: 978-0984681914
Page Count: 226
Publisher: The Grove Point Press
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK REVIEW
Wood’s tale of greed and violence versus decency is best when revved up and rolling, not just spinning the tires.
A young engineer finds himself in hot water when the bigwigs at his workplace start cutting corners, ignoring his advice and playing dirty.
Daniel Robles is an upstanding, ethically sound engineer who quickly learns that his employers are more interested in the bottom line than the wellbeing of their employees. They often ignore his creditable advice when it comes to safety matters, especially at financially fragile Schirmerling Tire and Rubber Company. Wood capably draws some gratifyingly rude characters: O’Brien, head of security and overseer of a meth lab secreted away at the tire plant, and Hodges, who would rather save a dime than worry about a worker being steamed like a lobster by the company’s dangerously flimsy boilers. Wood also colorfully depicts Robles’ girlfriend, Carol, a deeply manipulative woman not afraid to pull the Lysistrata trick on him in order to get her way. But when Wood uses italicized letters to let readers into his characters’ heads, things get stilted. It’s difficult to imagine Robles thinking to himself, “He says there’s a position at Schirmerling Tire & Rubber in Akron, Ohio, a nice, respectable company. It’s time for a change, a time for something better. And Akron is near Kent, where Hector, my brother lives. Yes, it’s time.” The enjoyable complexity of this thriller—at one point, Robles is being framed in more ways than one—is handled with aplomb by Wood, though certain side plots fail to get the attention they deserve, such as O’Brien’s gambling issues and Hector’s delamination after the Kent State shootings (the story takes place in 1970). Nor does Wood conjure the ambiance of the time, which surely could have cast the evildoers in an even harsher light. The story’s precarious balance keeps readers involved, particularly with Robles’ gathering tribulations, the company’s vileness and a bracing denouement in the boiler room. The sex scenes, on the other hand, are flaccid: “Carol liked his long hair. And he liked to please her, for when he did, she pleased him in ways he really liked.” Like, please.
Wood’s tale of greed and violence versus decency is best when revved up and rolling, not just spinning the tires.Pub Date: March 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-387-09251-2
Page Count: 227
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An uplifting story of personal sacrifice amid historical significance.
Grisanti’s novel combines history, family heritage and love to present the poignant tale of a young African-American woman’s struggle for civil rights.
It’s 1967, and Ruth Yuell is being treated in a Chicago emergency room after police officers invaded a peaceful demonstration she was attending. While waiting for medical treatment, Ruth recounts the story of her life to her white friend, Norma, a journalist, with the plot flashing back to 1939 for Ruth’s birth in St. Louis. Ruth’s father was a respected doctor in the community, yet he couldn’t afford for his wife to give birth in a hospital. So begins Ruth’s childhood and part of her eventual inspiration to join the cause of nonviolent social justice. Grisanti’s writing style flows well but provides scant physical description of characters, and the plot unfolds slowly, with occasional commentary reading like a textbook instead of a novel. For example, while discussing the church’s role in the African-American community, Ruth states: “In the pre-Civil Rights era the church was both a place to worship and a town hall of sorts to get community work done. Truth was there was no representative government for most Negroes. In the South especially, the church was the only place where Negroes could really gather in large numbers on a consistent basis to meet each other at all.” Grisanti’s more memorable scenes show the horror of racism: When teenage Ruth goes out for a drive with friends and while they’re changing a flat tire, white police officers accost them. Police leave Ruth’s pregnant friend lying on the ground in the middle of her miscarriage. Eventually, Ruth enters an integrated college up north where she isn’t harassed or threatened, although she encounters more racism and ultimately goes south to help with the civil rights cause. The strength of the book is in Ruth: Like the biblical Ruth, Grisanti’s heroine is devout and hardworking; she remains brave in the face of hardship. While trying to stop her fiancé’s sister from having sex with an evil man, Ruth is raped by the same man. He’s shot and killed, and Ruth takes the blame in court to save the reputation of her fiancé’s sister. Although the love story aspect can feel a bit contrived, readers will enjoy the sweetness of Ruth’s final revelation.
An uplifting story of personal sacrifice amid historical significance.Pub Date: March 19, 2012
ISBN: 978-0970886019
Page Count: 348
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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