Customer Reviews

Final Cut (Inspector Charlie Salter Mystery)

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A movie is being made in Toronto about a Nazi war criminal who has been hiding for decades, but is discovered and pursued. Suddenly, the movie set is sabotaged and vandalized with swastikas. Then, the writer is killed. Who's doing it? There are plenty of suspects and Inspector Charlie Salter sifts through the evidence in his slow but steady manner in order to find the culprit.

That, in a nutshell, is the book. It's a decent read, but not spectacular by any means. I liked the ending because it was not all wrapped up in a neat little package, like it was the end of a Scooby-Doo mystery. I get tired of that.

The main characters are interesting. The book reinforces my impression of movie-making - it is a tedious business, filled with lots of waiting and big egos.

Sometimes the movie biz can be murder. Is it malicious mischief, or something more sinister? That's the question for Staff Inspector Charlie Salter, working undercover as a police "adviser" to a movie crew shooting in Toronto. A fake fire alarm, a missing can of film, a damaged sound machine, and a kidnapped actor are merely opening salvos in what appears to be an attempt to halt production on this ill-fated film. Yet who among the bickering cast and crew would want to see the movie fail? Could it be the Easter European actor who's made a name for himself playing villians; the arrogant, egocentric star; the flakey first assistant director; or the obnoxious screenwriter who's on everyone's hit list? It's a reel-life mystery that has Charlie Salter dreading the next scene. But when the leading man is mugged and a prime player is found with a dagger through his chest, Salter takes the lead in a homicidal drama that stretches from Toronto to Bucharest, on a trail steeped in blood, retribution, and corrosive memory.