The Elvis and Marilyn Affair: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel [Hardcover]

Robert S. Levinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

When actress Stevie Marriner, reigning sex star of the soaps, becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a once-famous movie director from the Golden Age of Hollywood, she calls on her exbut still besottedhusband for help. Neil Gulliver, a former Los Angeles crime reporter, thinks he can prove Stevie innocent and expose the real killer by untangling the truth surrounding the rumor that Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe had a torrid love affair in the mid-fiftiesand that someone has the love letters to prove it!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The discovery of love letters between Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe supplies the premise for Levinson's stylish and droll debut. This intricate caper, set in L.A., combines the manners of hard-boiled detective fiction with the seriocomic antics of Nick and Nora Charles. Former crime beat reporter Neil Gulliver now writes a column about "people at their best and worst" for the take-no-prisoners (L.A.) Daily. His ex-wife, Stevie Marriner ("the sex queen of the soaps"), is about to make her big break from daytime TV to Broadway by starring in a one-woman show about the life of M.M. when the show's playwright-director, John "Black Jack" Sheridan, is murdered. Stevie is the prime suspect; in fact, she confesses to Neil, but claims she killed to save another's life. Using all his reportorial skills, Gulliver mines his Hollywood connections to convince the cops that his ex is innocent. His investigation digs into or trips over Hollywood's past by rounding up a glorious assortment of characters on the downslope of major careers: an aged, revered star; an intrepid former press head of 20th Century-Fox; one of Marilyn's confidants; an idolized cowboy star. The body count mounts when Gulliver's investigation reveals that the person who appears to be the real killer is protecting what Sheridan threatened to exposeAa secret affair on the Fox lot in 1956 between Elvis and Marilyn. The hunt for the real murderer and the chase for the letters doesn't stop until the last page. Levinson, a former L.A. reporter and PR man, knows his Tinseltown and its myths, and uses them both to smart effect. (Aug.) death.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Mystery fans should applaud an exciting newcomer--Levinson, who draws on his extensive background in entertainment PR and the music business in La-La Land to fashion a smart, sassy, fast-paced crime read that is funny, inventive, and hard to put down. Newspaper writer Neil Gulliver can't help helping his ex-wife, Stevie Marriner, the "sex star of the soaps," when she appears to be the prime suspect in the murder of Blackie Sheridan, in whose show about Marilyn Monroe she is starring. Sheridan, an Oscar-winning director, was retired and residing in a community for Hollywood once-weres managed by a has-been. Quite a collection of film industry people are housed there, including a dotty actress who is the only witness to the murder. When a batch of love letters allegedly exchanged between Elvis and Marilyn during the filming of Love Me Tender seems to set off still more killings, Neil must delve deeply into the history of the key players and of the movie business itself to clear his beloved Stevie's name. Levinson's debut should leave many ardently hoping that it just begins what ought to be a most entertaining series. Whitney Scott

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 316 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312869681
• ISBN-13: 978-0312869687
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,882,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read!, July 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Elvis And Marilyn Affair: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I read the book in hardcover and continue to recommend the book to all my friends. I am so looking foward to the next one. I want to see what happens next to Neil and Stevie and just what type of trouble they'll get into! There aren't that many good series out there, and this one seems to be shaping up into a spectacular one!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty and wild! A delightful romp!, September 2, 2000

By 

Jacaris (Sherman Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Elvis And Marilyn Affair: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

The Elvis and Marilyn Affair' is sexy, and sophisticated, a wild and witty romp through Hollywood past and present, with ample doses of murder, mayhem, and gossip.. The main protagonists, Neil Gulliver and his ex-wife, Stevie Marriner (Sex Queen of the Soaps), remind me of a modern Nick and Nora Charles; intelligent, urbane, and undeniably in love. When Stevie is accused of murdering Blackie Sheridan, the director of a one woman play in which she is starring, Marilyn Remembers., she calls on Neil for help. One death quickly follows another, each of an aging star connected to a rumored love affair between Elvis Presely and Marilyn Monroe. Mr. Levinson's secondary characters are fully formed, as interesting and endearing as Neil and Stevie. His knowledge of, and apparently genuine fondness for, Hollywood shines through, making the plot believable... even probable. If you like intrigue, suspense, plenty of dead bodies, witty repartee, and affairs of the heart you¹ll love ŒThe Elvis and Marilyn Affair¹.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read!, August 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Elvis and Marilyn Affair: A Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner Novel (Hardcover)

It's so rare today to pick up a book that has both a great plot and is well written. Many surprises here - just when I thought it was over, it wasn't. I can hardly wait until the next one!