MURDER ON THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD. [Paperback]

Stuart. Kaminsky (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (1978)
• ASIN: B000OTI6S0
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good storytelling, predictable plot..., March 27, 2001

By 

Erik J. Larsen (st. paul, mn) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder On The Yellow Brick Road (Toby Peters Mysteries) (Paperback)

Kaminsky's Toby Peters is a classic hard boiled detective and lives up to the title in this book. It has all the elements of a good L.A. noir story and is handled well. The extra(s) are the inclusion of many historically famous personalities (Raymond Chandler, Judy Garland, Louis B. Mayer, etc.)

That being said this book suffers from the same thing all books written about pre-war L.A. by people who weren't really there. The descriptions and directions tend to sound like someone reading off of a 1940's California map along with pictures from an old Life magazine.

Its fast-paced, short, and to the point. Its worth the time, however you won't remember much of it after you're done.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic leisure reading., May 30, 2002

By 

C. L. Stone (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder On The Yellow Brick Road (Toby Peters Mysteries) (Paperback)

This book is one of the first mystery novels that I've ever picked up, started, and felt compelled to keep reading until I finished it. Stuart Kaminsky blends the familiar elements of a murder mystery with a good dose of humor and eroticism (don't worry, it's not obscene). The whole book is tied together with the completely unpredictable, sick, yet hilarious conclusion. I'm not a person who reads a lot of mystery novels (or a lot of books in general), but Stuart Kaminsky is the most fun author I have ever read. Murder on the Yellow Brick Road was the first Kaminsky book I read, and it led me to buy 2 more of his books (Dancing in the Dark and The Devil Met a Lady), both of which are similarly fun but not quite as good from a mystery reader standpoint. If you're just looking for a good mystery novel that is also very fun, go ahead and pick up a copy of Murder on the Yellow Brick Road. Oh, and don't let your kids read it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Murder Mystery in Oz, January 30, 2000

By 

Robert E. Gold (Whitestone, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a charming story all about the discovery of a murdered munchkin one year after the film had been completed.The corpse is discovered on the set of Munchkinland, and Judy Garland, nervous and frightened, hires a detective to find the killer. It's short, creative, and a nice look at the 1930's era of Hollywood.