Fifty Cents For Your Soul [Hardcover]

Denise Dietz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2002

An irreverent mystery-driven black comedy inspired by strange events that plagued the filming of "The Exorcist" ...

Frannie Rosen's psychic mentions a brilliant future, but she never tells the straight-laced and naive Frannie that she will be possessed by a promiscuous doppelganger. All Frannie wants is an Oscar-winning role. What she gets is far more than that, especially when she's cast in a horror film about demonic possession, directed by the legendary Victor Madison. Victor Madison is universally and deservedly hated. His murder surprises no one but Frannie; his murderer is a surprise to everyone BUT Frannie.

(The author's sister doubled for Linda Blair in "The Exorcist.")

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ambitious Hollywood ingenue Frannie Rosen lands a part in a horror movie directed by the celebrated (and reviled) Victor Madison, but gets more than she bargained for in the demonic possession department when a violent and slutty real-life doppelganger takes over her body. The over-the-top, irreverent serving of horror and Hollywood noir in Fifty Cents for Your Soul is something of a departure for Dietz (Footprints in the Butter, etc.), but who can resist a book that opens with "The woman who straddled Victor Madison had hiccups"?
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A combination mystery-horror novel with a strong story line that will appeal to readers of both genres" Harriet Klausner -- Mysterious Readers, March 12, 2002

"An explosion of sex, religion and demons wrapped up in a feast of sharp, black humor ... Highly Recommended!" L. Martinez -- Murder on the Woo Woo Express, March 2002

"Over-the-top, irreverent serving of horror and Hollywood noir ... Who can resist?" -- Publishers Weekly, April 8, 2002

"This was definitely different and I enjoyed it immensely ... it will be considered a gem" Barbara Douglas -- Murder by the Book, Houston, TX, March 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Delphi Books (January 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966339754
• ISBN-13: 978-0966339758
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,975,951 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

When Denise [Deni] Dietz was in the third grade, she wrote her first story, THE PENCIL WHO GREW UP TO BE A STUB. Although the assignment was to write a one-page story, using an ink pen, Deni wrote a five-page story, first-person...and she used a pencil (the narrator of her story). Whereupon, she received a failing grade for not following orders. Just like her series heroine, diet guru Ellie Bernstein, Deni doesn't follow orders unless they make sense.

Years later, after Deni had enjoyed a short-lived singing career and acting career, she sat at her typewriter, flexed her fingers, and pounded out her first culinary mystery: THROW DARTS AT A CHEESECAKE, inspired by her part-time job as a Weight Watchers lecturer. In "Cheesecake," diet club members are getting killed off at goal weight and eating as if their very lives depended on it. The second book in the series, BEAT UP A COOKIE, revolves around a group of M*A*S*H* addicts and is dedicated to Alan Alda.

Switching to a computer, Deni hit the bestseller list with FOOTPRINTS IN THE BUTTER - an Ingrid Beaumont Mystery co-starring Hitchcock the Dog. She followed that success with her stand-alone, FIFTY CENTS FOR YOUR SOUL, her "reluctant witch mystery," EYE OF NEWT, and the 3rd and 4th books in her diet club mystery series, CHAIN A LAMB CHOP TO THE BED and STRANGLE A LOAF OF ITALIAN BREAD. "Strangle" was nominated for a Left Coast Crime "Lefty" Award as the most humorous mystery of 2009.

Cloning herself into historical romance author Mary Ellen Dennis, Deni wrote THE LANDLORD'S BLACK EYED DAUGHTER. Mary Ellen's STARS OF FIRE will be out December, 2010.

Married to Aussie/Canadian author, Gordon Aalborg (AKA Victoria Gordon), whom she met on-line through a writers loop, Deni, with Gordon, collaborated on a romantic suspense, FINDING BESS, and moved to Vancouver Island, where they are owned by a chocolate Lab named Magic.

Deni likes to hear from readers. She can be reached through her website: http://www.denisedietz.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Woo-woo? Yes, yes!, March 2, 2002

By 

Rex Anderson (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fifty Cents For Your Soul (Hardcover)

For woo-woo fans, Denise Dietz' new supernatural thriller, FIFTY CENTS FOR YOUR SOUL, should be required reading. Appropriate to a book about the weirder side of film-making, the title is taken from a Marilyn Monroe quote: "Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss, and fifty cents for your soul."

The story revolves-- well, actually, spins-- around Frannie Rosen, an aspiring actress, who lands a part in a new horror film directed by Victor Madison. It wouldn't be that big a deal, except that Madison is the revered, hated, celebrated, infamous master of horror films whose sinister history catapults Frannie from being a small cog in a big film to being a major player in a story of deceit, doppelgangers, possession, revenge, sex, witchcraft, murder, pathos, and, oh, yes, sex. Along the way, Dietz once again proves herself the master of rippling dialogue and fast-moving action.

To add background authenticity to the book, it happens that Denise Dietz' sister, Eileen Dietz, doubled for Linda Blair in THE EXORCIST. You thought it was sweet, young, innocent Linda Blair who did all those awful possession scenes? Uh-uh, it was our author's sister.

I had the pleasure of seeing FIFTY CENTS FOR YOUR SOUL in manuscript as it was being written, and even more pleasure-- and surprise-- when I recently received an ARC and found I was mentioned in the dedication.

Denise Dietz, is also the author of FOOTPRINTS IN THE BUTTER, THROW DARTS AT A CHEESECAKE and BEAT UP A COOKIE.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Irreverent, and a Mystery to boot!, March 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Fifty Cents For Your Soul (Hardcover)

This new novel by Denise Dietz is somewhat different from her other mysteries, but it still has her "voice" and I enjoyed it very much. A definite page turner, I couldn't stop at the end of a chapter, but had to keep going until I'd finished the book. Then I started all over again, picking out the clues I'd missed. Fifty Cents For Your Soul is a keeper.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great mystery horror combo, April 21, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fifty Cents For Your Soul (Hardcover)

Frannie Rosen was brought up in an affluent neighborhood on Long Island but she now lives in a fifth floor walk up in Manhattan with her lover Andre. Frannie wants to be an actress more than anything in the world and she believes she is on the road to success when she is cast as a demon in a horror film directed by Victor Madison.

Since the movie is being produced in Houston, Frannie and Andre fly to Texas, but their relationship rapidly deteriorates from the time filming starts. Frannie believes she is demon possessed and starts hitting the bottle. She discovers two dead bodies and thinks that the person who killed them both also killed the screenwriter of the film. Little does she realize that the murderer is somebody she considers a very close friend, a person she trusts completely with her soul.

Denise Dietz is a very talented writer who has crafted a combination mystery horror novel that will appeal to fans of both genres. FIFTY CENTS FOR YOUR SOUL stars a delightfully quirky heroine who doesn't let the fact that she is "possessed" interfere with her main goal of being a famous actress. Readers will adore her because she is so charming and piquant as she stars in a strong story line.

Harriet Klausner