Innuendo (Todd Mills Mysteries) [Paperback]

R.D. Zimmerman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Todd Mills Mysteries | Publication Date: November 7, 2000

Tim Chase walked across the room and flashed Todd Mills his megawatt smile. Stunned, Todd almost forgot the ugliness swirling around them both. For Chase, Hollywood's hottest star, it's the rumors that claim he is gay--and that his high-profile marriage is a sham. For Todd, an award-winning TV reporter, it's a murder case that has put his relationship with policeman Steve Rawlins in jeopardy and spread a deadly chill through Minneapolis's gay world.
The victim was a young man on the run from his past. Somewhere, Rawlins met the boy, and now Todd believes Rawlins offered him more than guidance. While Todd is getting a once-in-a-lifetime shot at a very personal interview with Tim Chase, he suddenly realizes that the murder may touch the actor and his entourage. And now the story is not about Innuendo. It's about the secrets that rage behind public masquerades. Including the kind that kill... .

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The fourth Todd Mills mystery offers the intriguing premise of dual investigations: one into the murder of a 17-year-old gay runaway, and the other into the sexual past and proclivities of Tim Chase, a movie star who has successfully sued a tabloid that claimed he was gay. Without pressuring his police officer boyfriend, Steve Rawlins, for more information than he can safely give, Minneapolis television reporter Todd Mills must try to uncover details about the boy's murder. At the same time, he is granted an exclusive interview with the glamorous Tim Chase, who immediately makes a pass at Todd in the guise of "research" for his next film. Is Todd's boyfriend hiding something important from him, something about Steve's own connection to the dead boy? And what about Tim Chase? Is he gay? And if so, how far would he go to protect his secret? Not especially fast-paced or complex, but absorbing and skillfully written, Innuendo will keep the reader guessing until its sexy, surprising final scenes. --Regina Marler

From Publishers Weekly

When one of Hollywood's hottest properties, the hunky Tim Chase, rolls into the Twin Cities for a shoot, TV news reporter Todd Mills (Outburst, etc.) finds himself in the midst of a big story. Chase has been hounded by rumors that he is gay, despite his fairy tale marriage to female superstar Gwen Owens. Mills, one of broadcasting's few openly gay reporters, is a natural to interview him. But before Mills meets Chase, Mills's lover, homicide detective Steve Rawlins, tells the reporter that 17-year-old Andrew Lyman has just been found with his throat slit. The news hits hard because Mills and Rawlins had met Andrew just a few months ago while volunteering at a gay and lesbian youth center. What Mills doesn't yet know, but soon finds out, is that Rawlins and Andrew may have been more than just friends. As the relationship between Rawlins and Mills cools off, the reporter's encounters with Chase heat up, especially when Chase invites Mills for an off-the-record interview that ends up being as much foreplay as work. Rawlins, meanwhile, investigates the killing; the hunt accelerates after Rawlins stumbles on Mills and Chase in a hot embrace, and the cop accuses the actor of being involved in the murder. Zimmerman offers sensitive depictions of the difficulties of gay adolescents, but balances them with tantalizing Hollywood glitz. Smartly paced and emotionally resonant, the novel winds up with a stunning, steamy denouement that will keep readers on the edges of their beds. Author tour. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Delta (November 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385319266
• ISBN-13: 978-0385319263
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,390,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story!, October 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Innuendo (Todd Mills Mysteries) (Paperback)

I have read nearly all of Zimmerman's books. I am a TV Anchor/reporter, who happens to be gay. I can't put any of Zimmerman's books down! They are a fantastic read! I recommend you not read this book in bed when you know you have to get up early. At the end of each chapter you are always saying, "oh, I'll just read one more chapter, and then I'll go to sleep." Please. Pretty soon it'll be time to get up. The book IS that good!

My biggest complaint is that Zimmerman is inaccurate when it comes to how things work in the TV business. I've done it all... from floor directing... to producing... to what I'm currently doing, Anchoring in Market 5, San Francisco for the last 12 years. TV news veterans will quickly see that Zimmerman tried to understand the TV business, but didn't completly get it. Especially when it comes to tv terminology. For example, never in my life, nor in the lives of my fellow journalists (who also can't put the book down) has any reporter done a VOSOT in 20 seconds, as was the case in INNUENDO. Not that it's impossible, just ridiculous. (You tv folks will know what I mean) There are a few other cases, but you get my drift.

But if you're not a TV News person like myself, you will find this book and all his others facinating reads! Don't NOT buy the book. Just don't believe every word he has to say about the TV business. Listen to me rant and rave. I'm a TV reporter for God's sake. Who believes us anyway.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent-best in the series, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Innuendo : A Todd Mills Mystery (Hardcover)

One of Hollywood's leading actors Tim Chase is haunted by rumors that he is gay even though he is married to the beautiful Gwen Owens. Tim happens to be in Minneapolis shooting a film. Local TV news reporter Todd Mills figures he would be a natural to interview the movie screen giant, as he himself is gay.

However, Todd receives bad news from his lover, police detective Steve Rawlins. Someone killed a gay teenager they recently met. Todd soon learns that his lover may have also cheated on him with the teen. Steve and Todd's relationship appears over. Meanwhile, Todd meets Tim, who invites him over for an exclusive. Steve sees his lover and the superstar in a heated embrace even as the cop accuses the actor of murder.

INNUENDO is a great contrasting of a Midwest gay lifestyle against Hollywood glamour inside of a well-designed murder mystery. The who-done-it is entertaining and Minneapolis is always a joy to visit. However, this novel belongs to the strong characters who seem genuine in their efforts to either live their life to the fullest or hide inside the closet. R.D. Zimmerman has written his best Todd Mills tale to date because his sympathetic cast brings to life problems confronting the gay community, but in an interesting non-preaching story line.

Harriet Klausner

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zimmerman is an incredible storyteller!, November 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Innuendo : A Todd Mills Mystery (Hardcover)

R.D. Zimmerman's latest Todd Mills mystery is intelligent, sexy, and amazingly credible. Zimmerman's social commentary on Hollywood, a very real Never-Never-Land where truth has always been sacrificed to keep audiences comfortable with their prejudices, is right on the money. Believe me, this is a fun and fast-pased pot boiler you won't be able to put down. I couldn't recommend it more highly!