Customer Reviews

Bullet for a Star

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I read of the passing of Stewart Kaminsky i the NY Times. Having never read him, and a fan of novels based on the 40"s, I tried his first book. It was a delight, and a fun read. I ordered two more of his books.

Up front I must tell you I'm a sucker for anything from Stuart Kaminsky. So there, the bias is out. The world of a Moscow police squad in the Rostnikov books and the Lieberman and Fonesca series are just so fun to read; but Toby Peters has a special spot. !940's and WWII is going on and Toby is a private dick in LA! What a recipe! But, all his clients are the greats of Hollywood! I just love the descriptions of old LA and the characters. Kaminsky could do characters better than any of the modern authors. The tongue in cheek parts about the famous actors and actresses had just the right touch of seriousness and the plot will do justice for the characters he created. I haven't finished all the Tobys yet. I cherish them like a great dessert now that we have lost the great Stuart Kaminsky.

Glancing at one of the reviews currently on this Amazon page, I first learned that Kaminsky had passed on two years ago. Sad when one of my accomplished contemporaries (born 4 years after me) leaves, particularly when the cause lies in an illness rooted in his military service. Nonetheless, he leaves behind, among many other works, a mystery series which I should not call classic because that might mislead potential readers to think it is high-brow, particularly when they learned that he was a legitimate, degree earned, college professor. Rather than being high-brow, each of the books is rich in character and redolent of the writing style and the period in Hollywood and America in which he sets the books.
I read this book when it came out and later purchased this audio-book version (before Audible.com was purchased by Amazon). It has essentially the basic plot and characters that, as in any series, whether soap opera, tv sitcom, or film, persist throughout its life. Missing are only his small friend, neighbor in his rooming house, and his very large friend, ex-wrestler poet, who owned and managed the building in which his office was situated. They strengthened later books in the series measurably as did the enlargement of the roles of the dentist from whom he sub-let his office and his landlady. Important, too, became the partner of his brother whose use of his big fists did not exclude our hero, and, of course, the movie stars whose problems were the heroes bread and butter. In this book, while hired by Warner Brothers to find another (made-up) actor, our hero becomes involved with Errol Flynn, then on his way to stardom, who becomes his client when the plot requires it. I must say, hearing the narrator of this excellent audio-book use the name Errol, I found it very difficult to accept that anyone named Errol, had ever been a star, had ever existed for that matter. Of course, he did exist, as I well remember, and did play that era's Hollywood Idol and Master Make-Out Artist.
So, I would say to new readers, get acquainted with the series by reading this initial offering and prepare yourself for even richer fare in the later volumes.

This is the first in the Toby Peters books and it is excellent. And, the Blackstone Audio Books version is both well read and faithful to the original book. The breaks on the cassettes are handy. Do yourself a favor and check out the later titles Blackstone offers. You'll be glad.