Alone (Valentino Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Loren D. Estleman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Valentino Mysteries | Publication Date: December 8, 2009

The second wacky comedic murder romp for Hollywood film detective Valentino

Valentino wants to keep The Oracle, his beloved run-down movie palace, from being condemned before it even reopens, but murder keeps intruding into his otherwise quiet life. At a gala party held in memory of screen legend Greta Garbo, he’s having fun until the host, a hotshot developer named Matthew 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 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’s dead body on the floor.

Valentino’s in a quandary. He’d love to see that letter, but he can’t. He’s gotten his girlfriend—who works for the police—in trouble, so his love life is, pardon the expression, shot to hell. Worse yet, the building inspector has kicked him out of his unfinished living space in the Oracle, so he takes his life in his hands and moves in with his eccentric mentor, the elderly, insomniac Professor Broadhead. No love, no sleep, no letter—life isn’t fair!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Shamus-winner Estleman's captivating second mystery to feature L.A. film detective Valentino (after 2008's Frames) focuses on legendary screen actress Greta Garbo. In 2005, Matthew Rankin, an elderly department store mogul whose late wife was a close friend of Garbo's, hosts a party honoring the 100th anniversary of Garbo's birth at his Beverly Hills mansion. During the party, Rankin offers to donate a copy of a rare promotional film that Garbo made when she was a salesgirl in Sweden, How Not to Dress, to the UCLA Film Preservation Department if Valentino will dig up dirt on Roger Akers, the tycoon's assistant, who's been blackmailing him. A few days later, Valentino walks into Rankin's study to find the mogul holding a smoking gun and Akers lying dead in front of his desk. Rankin claims he shot Akers in self-defense. Is Rankin telling the truth? Readers will eagerly turn the pages to learn the answer. (Dec.)
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From Booklist

The second in the prolific Estleman’s newest series starring UCLA film archivist and sometime sleuth Valentino lives up to the promise of the debut (Frames, 2008). This time out Valentino is trying to save his pet project, remodeling and reopening a run-down movie palace, from being stalled indefinitely, thanks to a corrupt building inspector. Meanwhile, he becomes involved in yet another film-history-inspired murder. An aging business tycoon has shot his assistant, whom the tycoon claims was blackmailing him over what seems to be a love letter from Greta Garbo to his ex-wife. Valentino’s archivist nose is twitching madly at the thought of getting possession of that letter, but to do so means compromising all sorts of things, not the least of which is his relationship with his girlfriend, Harriet, an LAPD forensic analyst. 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. --Bill Ott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (December 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765315769
• ISBN-13: 978-0765315762
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Since the appearance of his first novel in 1976, Loren D. Estleman has written more than 65 books and hundreds of short stories and articles. Alone (Dec 2009, Forge Books) is the second in a new series about L.A. film detective Valentino, and features Greta Garbo.

To kick off the new decade, Estleman's The Book of Murdock (eighth in the U.S. Deputy Marshal Page Murdock series) will appear in March and, to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of Private Detective Amos Walker, The Left-Handed Dollar will publish in December. It's the 20th novel in the award-winning series.

An authority on both criminal history and the American West, Estleman has been called the most critically acclaimed author of his generation. He has been nominated for the National Book Award and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award.

He has received seventeen national writing awards: four Shamuses from the Private Eye Writers of America, five Spurs from the Western Writers of America, two American Mystery Awards from Mystery Scene Magazine, two Outstanding Mystery Writer of the Year awards from Popular Fiction Monthly, two Stirrup Awards for outstanding articles in the Western Writers of America magazine, The Roundup, and three Western Heritage Awards from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. In 1987, the Michigan Foundation of the Arts presented him with its award for literature. In 1997, the Michigan Library Association named him the recipient of the Michigan Author's Award. In 2007, Nicotine Kiss was named a Notable Book by the Library of Michigan.

Estleman graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Journalism. On April 27, 2002, EMU presented him with an honorary doctorate in letters. He left the job market in 1980 to write full time. He lives in Michigan and is married to writer Deborah Morgan. For more information, please visit his website: www.lorenestleman.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood Goofiness, Odeon Restoration, Movie History, Film Preservation, Garbo, Murder, Detection, Romance, and Humor, January 4, 2010

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Alone (Valentino Mysteries) (Hardcover)

"Now when evening came, He was alone there." -- Matthew 14:23

Don't start this series with Alone: Go back and read Frames first, the initial book in the Valentino series.

I'm a big fan of Loren D. Estleman and picked up a copy of Alone on the strength of that liking. Utterly charmed by the story, I pulled my reading temporarily to a halt mid-way through and headed out to find Frames. The back story for Alone seemed just too good to be true. I had to find out more. I'm sure glad that I did.

I won't share any details. That will rob the story of its charm. Mr. Estleman can tell Valentino's story much better than I can hope to do.

If you are looking for an action thriller with a hard-boiled detective in a noir style, Alone won't appeal to you. But if you have a fondness for Hollywood, the history of the movies, the silent movie era, and a romantic mystery filled with outrageously good humor, Alone will charm you for sure.

On the surface, Alone can feel like fluff . . . but beneath the almost self-satirical humor lies a delightful plot, a gag environment, and a Keystone Kops-like approach to detection that fits closer to Stephanie Plum than to Sherlock Holmes.

Be warned that the murder mystery is simply there to move the plot along. If you like difficult whodunits, this book also isn't for you.

To me, the humorous mystery is the most difficult kind of book to write. Mr. Estleman carries it off like the pro that he is. He's having so much fun with this story that you cannot help but smile at the plot and in his obvious pleasure in writing the book.

If you have ever been hassled by a building inspector, you'll especially like this book.

Bravo!

5.0 out of 5 stars The Combination is Unbeatable, February 5, 2010

By 

John H. Eckert "rockyeckert" (Ellicott City, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Alone (Valentino Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Loren Estleman and Valentino are a combination that cannot be beat. The only tie would be with Robert B. Parker and Spenser. Keep them coming!

4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining mystery for film buffs., January 2, 2010

By 

Rob Mattheu (Somewhere in the US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alone (Valentino Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Valentino is a film detective, a man that tracks down rare and historic films to be preserved and restored. Matthew Rankin is a developer who has a complete copy of a Greta Garbo's rare first film, a commercial entitled "How Not To Dress". When Rankin shoots his assistant dead, he brings Valentino in to explain why he did it. It seems the assistant has blackmailed him with a letter claiming that Garbo and his late wife had a lesbian affair and then became violent, so Rankin shot him. In exchange for Valentino being a witness who can clear his clearing his name, Rankin offers Valentino Garbo's first film.

Like all good mysteries, all is not how it seems, however, and the rest of the book has Valentino fighting with his best friend, his girlfriend, a corrupt building inspector that is keeping him from completing work on his lifelong dream of owning a theater, and a dogged detective who hates people of privilege and believes Rankin actually committed a murder in cold blood, not self defense.

Loren Estleman has crafted an entertaining book that is a must for lovers of film history. The book is not a suspenseful page turner, but the light and breezy tone, well crafted characters, and Estleman's obvious love of the subject matter will keep readers turning pages.