Customer Reviews

Frames: A Valentino Mystery (Valentino Mysteries)

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I've been a long-time fan of Loren Estleman. His Amos Walker series has been the standard bearer of the hard-boiled PI school for over 20 years. His Peter Macklin books "stretch the boundaries" of the cliched murder-for-hire genre. Hell, I rarely read westerns, but I find Estlemans' works right up there with Zane Grey.
However, a series on the adventures of a UC film professor is not exactly the bullets and broads-type of story that he does so well. Eminently readable, of course, but not really a thrilling action novel.

Calling himself the "Film Detective" Valentino earns a living as film archivist at UCLA. He considers buying the Oracle, a dilapidated theatre that back in the 1920s was a showcase. However, as he inspects the crumbling edifice, he finds several reels of Erich von Stroheim's classic epic, Greed; though long lost to the ravages of time, stupidity, and avarice.

However, his discovery takes a setback when Valentino also uncovers a skeleton. He would prefer to ignore the old bones and run off with the film, but his conscience will not allow Valentino to do so. He calls the cops informing them of the human remains, but remains silent re the reels out of fear the evidence takers will damage the valuable work, which would put his conscience in suicide mode.

This is an entertaining Hollywood mystery as the lead character hides evidence from the police rationalizing why he did it. The cold case investigation is fun to follow as the Film Detective tracks cinematic clues one frame at a time; while also rationalizing again why he is making inquiries. Apparently Valentino has appeared in short stories, but in his novel debut he seems complete and able to hold together an enjoyable somewhat movie fun fluffy whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

This little novel is adequate but in no way great. A film/Hollywood buff is likely to find it acceptable. The mystery it sets forth is not particularly interesting and is primarily an excuse for the author to deploy what he's learned about old movies and film preservation. This could have been more entertaining had the book''s extensive repartee been more clever and the characters delivering it more three-dimensional.

I read a fair amount of crime fiction, but had never read anything by prolific multiple award-winner Estleman until now. The film preservation milieu of this first in a projected series caught my attention, so I decided to give it a whirl. The story revolves around a UCLA film archivist named Valentino, who, in the course of buying a crumbling historic theater in LA, makes the discovery of a career. Many film buffs know the story of Erich von Stroheim's film Greed (based on Frank Norris' novel McTeague), which the studio chopped from ten hours down to a confused two hour release, tossing the remaining footage in the process. That missing footage is a Holy Grail for film archivists, and naturally Valentino discovers it in the old theater he buys.

However, he also finds a skeleton, and once the police are alerted, it's a race to solve a 50-year-old murder before the police decide to confiscate the priceless (and highly unstable) canisters of Greed as potential evidence. Fortunately, he's got help in the form of his 60-something UCLA mentor, who's a walking encyclopedia of film history and a flouter of convention and law to boot. There's also Fanta, a smart and sexy co-ed who's interning with the film preservation office. Finally, there's the sexy (4 of the 5 primary female characters are described as highly attractive) LAPD crime scene investigator Valentino meets and falls for.

The story is best described as of a fun romp, somewhat reminiscent in tone of a Scooby Doo episode. Valentino and friends have to figure things out while keeping their investigation secret from the cops, which gives the proceedings a bit of a farcical air. There are several outsized funny characters, such as the crotchety old department secretary, and the hilariously affected Russian restoration specialist, among others. There are tons of references to Golden Age Hollywood which may or may not send readers to the internet to look up, and plenty of interesting information about the art and science of film preservation. Some of the gags and wordplay are kind of corny, and it's best read with a willing suspension of disbelief. For example, even though the theater is totally falling apart, how does a 30-something film preservationist have enough money to buy it? But on the whole, it's a fun lightweight read that should appeal to mystery readers with a taste for classic Hollywood fare.

Note: Valentino has apparently previously appeared in ten short stories published in Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine. Hopefully these will be collected in book form at some point.

I have read other books by Mr. Estleman in the past and have been entertained enough to purchase other titles. Frames was an interesting read that actually made me look up some of the people and film references that were introduced in this book. While it was not a page-turning thriller, nor was it part of Estleman's style that I have been accustomed, it proved to still be a good and interesting read. I ended up reading the entire book in 3.5 hours, finishing it in one day because I couldn't put it down until I read the "whodunnit" part.

Well written and researched, an enjoyable read for those who enjoy older films and their history.

The novelist is a noted movie buff and it was virtually inevitable that somewhere in his prolific output he would find room for a series that reflects that passion."Frames" marks the start of just such a series and his enthusiasm for the subject informs the whole book.

The protagonist is "Valentino",whose business card proclaims him to be a "film detective",a somewhat grandiose term for a researcher at UCLA whose job is tracking down previously missing or neglected film stock ,often of a mundane nature.However,one day he seemingly strikes the mother lode ; he purchases a rundown cinema and finds a large number of film cans in the basement.They appear to be a full print -some 8 hours in total -of "Greed ",Erich von Stroheim's silent movie magnum opus ,subject to severe editing by the studio and only available in truncated form .Inconveniently ,however ,the cans have company -a dead body ,which may or may not have died as the result of murder.The police regard the film as possible evidence ,and it may not survive the less than ideal storage conditions in a police laboratory.He resolves to solve the mystery of the dead body himself ,aided by his boss ,the noted film scholar Professor Broadhead ,and a feisty young female graduate student ,Fanta.He also finds time to begin a relationship with an attractive forensic assistant ,Harriet Johansen.If that did not give him enough to think about ,he is also visited by Von Stroheim's ghost ,pleading that he save his masterpiece.

The book is more in line with the soft boiled or cosy school of crime writing that are the authors' private eye yarns ,featuring Amos Walker ;there is no violence or sexual content for instance .The book is an engaging experience ,one more likely to appeal to those who love movies than to those indifferent about them .The characters are engaging ,especially the cheerful vulgarian ,Henry Anklemire ,a University administrator with the soul of a huckster .The mystery is neither deep nor profound but the book gets by on good nature ,some solid detection and a patently sincere love of the movies.

The "afterword" contains a short but informative guide to Von Stroheim and his films that might interest anyone moved to investigate the films being written about in the book.

With Frames, author Loren Estleman, (the Amos Walker and Motor City series), introduces us to a new protagonist - Valentino. (The character has appeared in short stories; this is his full length novel debut.) Valentino is a young, (30ish), film archivist at UCLA who calls himself a "film detective", because it sounds more intriguing and hopefully impresses women. In this adventure, Valentino buys himself an old classic movie theater which includes two items not listed on the real estate spec sheet - Forty plus cans of old film and a skeleton. The old film may or not be Erich von Stroheim's legendary epic, Greed, and it's anybody's guess as to the "identity" of the skeleton.

Valentino and his band of merry amateur detectives are soon on the case; attempting to preserve the film and solve a 50 + year old murder. The supporting cast, including Valentino's mentor, are all likeable and the mystery, although not complicated, is engaging. If you are a film buff, there's also plenty of movie trivia and Hollywood history to keep your attention. This is much lighter fare as compared to Estleman's other books - That being said, Frames is good, but not a great read.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as some of his others. I found the characters a little too flippant and the dialogue hard to follow - who was being sarcastic to whom. And every female was attractive. I guess that's LA.

Valentino is an archivist with UCLA's film preservation department. Looking for a new place to live, his realtor shows him an old movie house up for sale. When he finds a cache of twenty-four film cans labeled Greed, it seals the deal. Valentino just may have discovered the Holy Grail of silent film on his hands: the original, full-length 8- (or 10-) hour cut of Erich von Stroheim's masterpiece (basically a filming of Frank Norris's classic novel McTeague in its entirety).

Needing help with the possibly volatile silver nitrate stock, he approaches his mentor, Professor Broadhead, who loans Valentino his intern, a junior copyright-law student named Fanta. When they look deeper into Valentino's new home, the trio locate a walled-off hidden room containing a Prohibition liquor stash and eighteen more film cans.

Oh, there's also a dead body, but reporting the death would make the theater a crime scene, and make the film evidence, endangering its longevity. So, they try to hide the film from the police. But when the investigating detective learns of its existence, she gives Valentino three days to make a copy on safety stock, or she'll send a cruiser to pick up the film -- and him, for obstructing justice.

Three days isn't nearly enough time to do the job, literally impossible given that each frame of the forty-two reels has to be copied individually, so the only other option left to Valentino, Broadhead, and Fanta is to solve the case themselves in the next seventy-two hours. (The "film detective" gets to try on some real gumshoes.) Meanwhile, Valentino is being visited by the ghost of Erich von Stroheim, who is rather determined that his kindling be saved.

While author Loren D. Estleman's P.I. Amos Walker's adventures fall solidly on the hard-boiled end of the mystery spectrum, Frames tends toward the opposite, "cozy," end. There's only one murder, and it happens fifty years before the story begins. In fact, Valentino, Broadhead, and Fanta will be lucky to discover if the murderer is still alive! But classic film fans will eat this one up: Estleman has loaded his characters' dialogue with film trivia and fascinating information about film preservation, including the five stages of decomposition of silver nitrate film stock (the source of the moniker "silver screen").

This otherwise laid-back undertaking (apart from the suspense involved in whether the film will survive the storytelling) results in an emotionally intense denouement (at least as performed by William Dufris in the audiobook version of Frames) that is a surprise given all that happened before. With the addition of a romantic subplot with a crime scene investigator, the book is quite a pleasant and educational read, and I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series, Alone.

"You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit." -- Psalm 50:19

I found Frames in a most unusual way. I'm a big fan of Loren D. Estleman and picked up a copy of the second book in the Valentino series, Alone. Utterly charmed by that story, I pulled my reading temporarily to a halt mid-way through and headed out to find Frames. The back story for Alone seemed just too good to be true. I had to find out more. I'm sure glad that I did.

If you are looking for an action thriller with a hard-boiled detective in a noir style, this book won't appeal to you. But if you have a fondness for Hollywood, the history of the movies, the silent movie era, and a romantic mystery filled with outrageously good humor, Frames will charm you for sure.

On the surface, Frames can feel like fluff . . . but beneath the almost self-satirical humor lies a delightful plot, a gag environment, and a Keystone Kops-like approach to detection that fits closer to Stephanie Plum than to Sherlock Holmes.

Be warned that the murder mystery is simply there to move the plot along. If you like difficult whodunits, this book also isn't for you.

To me, the humorous mystery is the most difficult kind of book to write. Mr. Estleman carries it off like the pro that he is. He's having so much fun with this story that you cannot help but smile at the plot and in his obvious pleasure in writing the book.

Bravo!