Death in the Fifth Position (Panther Books) [Import] [Paperback]

Edgar Box (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Granada; n.e. edition (1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0586054111
• ISBN-13: 978-0586054116
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fifth Position, first-rate writing, September 6, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in the Fifth Position (Vintage Mystery, V-54) (Paperback)

Gore Vidal's first book as the mystery writer Edgar Box, a pseudonym he was forced to take after the notoriety of The City and the Pillar made him a public figure and critical dartboard. The City and the Pillar was pilloried by some for its portrayal of homosexuality; here the fictional Box goes in the other direction and exposes us to predatory male ballet stars and diva fag hags. All, ultimately, in savage good fun and the gossipy good writing Vidal is famous for. He declared it took him eight days to write; well, the book's a quick read, and despite the dated-ness of its settings (forties NYC) remains a racy, picaresque thriller which in the best spirit of its author rocks the conventions of its genre

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gore Vidal strikes again!, February 13, 2011

By 

I. Sondel "I. Sondel - lover of the arts" (Tallahassee, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Death in the Fifth Position (Vintage Mystery, V-54) (Paperback)

Earlier this year I wrote a review of Nancy Mitford's classic Love in a Cold Climate and praised Vintage for re-issuing it and other Mitford novels. Well, they're at it again, this time re-issuing Gore Vidal's three Edgar Box mysteries in handsome new editions. Of the three, the best is the first (and gay inclusive), Death in the Fifth Position.

Peter Cutler Sargeant III is a NYC press agent hired by the Grand Saint Petersburg Ballet in hopes that he can put a positive spin on the company's celebrated choreographer Jed Wilbur, one time member of the Communist Party. Set during the time of HUAC and the blacklists, Communist ties quickly become secondary to murder, and our PR man finds himself an amateur detective intimately mixed up with various members of the troupe.

Vidal was well acquainted with the NYC dance world and dated, among others, Harold Lang (the lead in Fancy Free) and John Kriza (the lead in Billy the Kid). Death in the Fifth Position is short (in length, not story), acerbic and witty; full of colorful characters and theatre "types" such as the ingénue, the prima donna, the impresario, the hard nosed cop, and a cavalcade of queens - most notably the lecherous male soloist Louis Giraud. The mystery is well plotted, moves at an impressive pace and is, most importantly, absorbing and fun from start to finish.

Vintage Crime/Black Lizard will release Death in the Fifth Position, Death before Bedtime and Death Likes it Hot March 22; now, if they would just re-issue Thieves Fall Out, another gay-inclusive mystery Vidal penned (this time as Cameron Cay), what a treat that would be.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Mystery With Some Modern Twists, July 16, 2011

By 

John D. Cofield - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Death in the Fifth Position (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) (Paperback)

Back in the early 1950s Gore Vidal was an up and coming young novelist who had annoyed some very important people at The New York Times Book Review. Unable to get his books reviewed, Vidal struggled with being a gifted-but-starving writer. Fortunately he ran into a publisher who encouraged him to write mysteries under a pseudonym. Death in the Fifth Position was the first of three mysteries Vidal published as Edgar Box during this period.

Death in the Fifth Position deals with murder in a ballet company. Its an intriguing plot with several surprising twists. The trademark Vidal acerbic wit is fully on display, making me wonder just how many people were really fooled by his Edgar Box alias. The story is redolent of its period: McCarthyism, labor unrest, Cold War, conflict over sexual and gender identity are all very apparent.

Death in the Fifth Position's plot and characters would guarantee it a wide audience. The fact that it was written by one of the twentieth century's finest American authors is a bonus that makes it even more appealing.