The Devil Met a Lady (Toby Peters Mysteries) [Paperback]

Stuart M. Kaminsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000 | Series: Toby Peters Mysteries

FIRST TRADE PAPERBACK EDITION
BY EDGAR AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR
STUART KAMINSKY

"I'm here," came a familiar voice.

I turned and found myself looking at Bette Davis no more than a half a dozen feet in front of me. She strode forward around two couples and stood in front of me with a smile that could kill. The orchestra had picked up the theme and it was hard to hear her as she said:

"Why are you following me?"

Why has legendary actress Bette Davis been kidnapped not once, not twice, but three times? And what does her abduction have to do with the Third Reich's attempts to steal America's plans for a top-secret superbomber?

In pursuit of answers, private eye Toby Peters must penetrate a hapless spy ring composed of third-rate Tinseltown tough guys, and delve into the bedroom peccadillos of America's glitter set. As bodies begin piling around him, he finds himself racing to the rescue of Miss Davis.

But if he fails in his mission, who'll protect Peters from the wrath of the star...?

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Another pleasantly foolish outing for Toby Peters (The Melting Clock, 1991, etc.), shamus to Hollywood's Golden Age stars. The client this time (1943) is Bette Davis's husband Arthur Farnsworth, whose aeronautical research on a modified bombsight has brought him to the attention of a gang that wants to swap the plans for an old sound-recording that Toby would rather forget--a record of how Davis's first husband, Ham Nelson, blackmailed Howard Hughes over a little performance coaching she gave him--and threatens to kidnap the star if Farnsworth won't play ball. The byplay between Toby and Davis, who stops recycling dialogue from her movies only long enough to get snatched three times, is the high point here; better pass over the mystery in silence. Bright and insubstantial as a meringue. Not the best in this waggish, venerable series. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

San Diego Union-Tribune Shades of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. If you think Stuart Kaminsky doesn't have a feeling for the best of both authors, you are in for a surprise. -- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: I Books; First Ibooks Printing edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743400046
• ISBN-13: 978-0743400046
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,067,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A promising premise disappointingly realized, June 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Devil Met a Lady (Toby Peters Mysteries) (Paperback)

Judging from the number of used copies of this book on sale for just pennies, other readers shared similar reactions: That they found The Devil Met A Lady to be quite a disappointment. Kaminsky continues the (dubious) trend of casting historical figures in fictional adventures by building a mystery, involving wartime espionage, around an attempt to blackmail Bette Davis. But the character that emerges is more that of a dull drag queen doing Davis than of the Fourth Warner Brother. And the sleuth, Toby Peters, solves cases with the help of a vaudevillian network of friends and acquaintances like fortune-tellers, little people and, well, BIG people. The plotting is pretty last ditch, with coincidences aplenty and saviors unexpectedly turning up where it's unlikely they'd be (the "mystery" proves little more than an afterthought). And while a light tone is one thing, The Devil Met A Lady -- the title's a play on the 1936 Davis version of The Maltese Falcon, Satan Met A Lady -- lacks the edge and precision to be a campy romp.

4.0 out of 5 stars Toby Peters meets Betti Davis, June 20, 2010

By 

Nash Black "Troubadour" (Jamestown, KY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Devil Met a Lady (Toby Peters Mysteries) (Paperback)

The late Stuart M. Kaminsky took his love of film and mystery to Hollywood when he created the Toby Peters series. THE DEVIL METS A LADY may have been written to fulfill a contract because it doesn't have the pace of others in the series.
Toby is called upon to protect Miss Davis by her husband and to also locate a recording an associate made of Miss D., a lover and her then husband.
The existence of the recording is a threat to her career and the Nazi's want the plans to a gun mount her current husband is designing.
A sleazy hotel is their hiding place, but the bad guys seem to know their every move.
Nash Black, author of QUALIFYING LAPS.