Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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!

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 youčll love ŒThe Elvis and Marilyn Affairč.

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!

The Elvis and Marilyn Affair goes down smoothly. It's a book that will amuse you even if your mood is a little dark when you begin. But don't look for any redeeming qualities in the story: It's just fun fluff.

The story is amusingly narrated by Neil Gulliver, a flip fellow who writes a newspaper column. His life is complicated by being still in love with his ex-wife of many years, Stevie Marriner, a daytime television goddess who divorced him for treating her like a trophy.

As the book opens, Stevie finds herself the prime suspect in a murder investigation, and she falls back on her friendship with Neil to help her deal with the police and the publicity. Neil takes charge of protecting her and begins to play detective.

Neil soon learns that there are hidden currents behind the currently in-development one-woman show of Marilyn Monroe's life in which Stevie is to star. Someone is convinced that there are love letters between Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe . . . and will stop at nothing to get those letters. From there, the mayhem builds in a huge crescendo. Hollywood icons fall left and right as the murderous search develops.

On the surface, it might seem like this is Nick and Nora Charles disguised as a divorced couple. That's not really true, though. The dialogue is somewhat like the noir stories, but the story itself is like a boa-bedecked item from Fredericks of Hollywood. If you doubt that, the many references to oral sexual gratification will soon disabuse you. The book succeeds primarily as a spoof on Hollywood and its pretensions . . . combined with humorous patter of the sort that works well on Jon Stewart's show. Even the convoluted plot (which has more twists in it than Mulholland Drive does) primarily serves as spoof material about the fundamental dishonesty of Hollywood.

I found myself looking forward to reading the next books in the series and being similarly encouraged to chuckle along with the author as the slapstick antics continue.

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 youčll love ŒThe Elvis and Marilyn Affairč.

Soap superstar Stevie Marriner looks forward to her stage debut when she performs in a one-person show as Marilyn Monroe. However, Stevie finds the road to critical acclaim filled with potholes as her and director Black Jack Sheridan argue over the role. Their dispute ends when an unknown assailant murders Black Jack using the victim's Oscar as the weapon. The police feel Stevie had motive and opportunity, especially since she was at the crime scene at the time of the murder.

Whenever Stevie faces trouble, which seems as she does every day, she turns to her former husband, reporter Neil Gulliver for help. Neil begins to investigate, starting with Stevie's alibi. As he digs deeper, he finds a tenuous link between the director's death and a rumored cache of letters proving Elvis and Marilyn shared a heated love affair. Apparently, someone will kill to make sure that no one substantiates the rumor.

Is THE ELVIS AND MARILYN AFFAIR a novel version of the supermarket tabloids? In some respects the answer is yes as the story line centers on a rumor that excites people even though both parties have been dead for over two decades. However, to his credit Robert S. Levinson turns that rumor into an interesting who-done-it that makes the plot more than just a one-line tale. The lead characters are an intriguing duo, especially their off-kilter relationship that seems to fit Hollywood.. Mr. Levinson pulls out the sensationalism most readers try to hide, but makes it feel respectable.

Harriet Klausner

Robert S. Levinson really knows how to tell a story. He also knows how to hook readers. THE ELVIS AND MARILYN AFFAIR is his first mystery effort. It mixes two popular culture legends with an unhappily divorced modern couple. Robert S. Levinson teases the reader throughout the book with suggestions of an affair between that singer and that blonde. A Los Angeles newspaperman/detective, Neil Gulliver, and his actress ex, Stevie Marriner, find themselves entangled in murders and danger attempting to discover the truth and catch the killer. Better debut novels are hard to find.

I'd been waiting for the paperback edition ever since reading some of the great reviews when this book came out last year in hard cover. I wasn't the least bit disappointed. The Elvis and Marilyn names are what attracted me at first, but it was the whole story that kept me turning pages until way into the night. I love the main characters, Stevie and Neil, and can't wait to see what they'll be up to in the author's next book, which I'll probably wind up buying in hardcover. This is a real treat for people who are into movies and movie stars and like a lot of laughs and even some tears mixed in with their excitement.

I picked up this book because of its intriging title. The book is clever and a joy to read. The author is one to remember. It is a joy to discover a new author with such ability to make the story jump off of the page. I loved it.

Robert Levinson mixes 2 parts intrigue with 1 part celebrity rumor, adds a dash of humor and mixes up a hit. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have recommended it to many friends.