Murder At Heartbreak Hospital [Hardcover]

Henry Slesar SLESAR (Author), Henry Slesar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998

"Heartbreak Hospital" is one of the most popular TV soap operas, an endless saga of life and death, love and hatred: to many of its fans, the characters seem much more real than the actors who play them.

The character everyone loves to hate is Andrea Harmon, the soap's classic Bitch, played by Sunday Tyler-a ruthless, demanding, manipulative actress who has alienated everyone connected with the show. The only person who has seen Sunday's softer side is Bill Troy of the New York Police Department Movie/TV Unit, who is inevitably drawn into the case when Sunday is murdered, and no one has a satisfactory alibi.

Drawing on his long experience in the hothouse world of soap opera, Henry Slesar has woven a skillful, witty plot with twists and turns, red herrings and streaks of black humor. The surprising climax of this thoroughly enjoyable mystery tells us that soap opera stars might be open to threats from totally unexpected quarters.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Demanding star Sunday Tyler, who plays hit soap opera Heartbreak Hospital's most important role, that of femme fatale Andrea Harmon, has few friends but lots of enemies. So when she is found murdered in her apartment, everyone on the show becomes a suspect. NYPD officer William Troy, who'd been assigned to security work for the soap, helps homicide cops sort through the cast and crew, which includes jealous actors and frustrated scriptwriters. Adding to Troy's problems, his ex-girlfriend Fiona suddenly turns up at his apartment: she's pregnant and wants him to marry her. The plot may be sudsy, but Slesar does an admirable job of making the bubbles worth watching as he mimics daytime TV's most outrageous hours. Deliciously stereotyped characters and overacting add to the atmosphere. A second death has Troy reeling as he finds himself a suspect, and while the finale is predictable, Slesar provides an enjoyable time, full of nasty twists and characters, taking readers there.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As liaison for New York City's movie and TV police unit, William Troy meets the luscious but much-hated star of a popular soap opera, Heartbreak Hospital. Rude, snotty, and vicious, the nonetheless talented Sunday Tyler rules the soap opera roost?and, for a brief time, Troy's heart. When she is murdered, life imitates television "art" as cast members and writers attempt to reorganize their story lines and police try to narrow the suspect list. Wry humor, dramatic pauses, real and imagined conflicts, and ever-metamorphosing subplots: a sure bet for most collections. [Mystery novelist Slesar was also a television scriptwriter and wrote a daytime serial for 15 years.?Ed.]
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Academy Chicago Publishers; 1st US edition (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897334639
• ISBN-13: 978-0897334631
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,155,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of all the expected misery of a soap drama, September 2, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder At Heartbreak Hospital (Paperback)

Henry Slesar is a television writer with over 500 episodes of such well-known series as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Batman," and the "ABC Movie of the Week." His portolio also includes two Edgar Awards for his mysteries, placeing him in the enviable top echelon of mystery writers.

MURDER AT HEARTBREAK HOSPITAL begins with Detective William Troy, reassigned by the NYPD after a run-in with an angelic looking but evil-minded prostitute with homicide by knife on her mind:

"He was making all the right moves towards detective status when, on his twenty-sixth birthday, a hooker with a face like a Botticelli angel and the mental attitude of a Borgia plunged a six-foot kitchen knife into his chest, narrowly missing his heart."

This is just a sample of the descriptive and witty writing as Detective Troy joins the Movie/TV unit of the NYPD, and begins meeting the stars, writers, and producers of HEARTBREAK HOSPITAL. Naturally every daytime soap requires a witch with a "b" to head up the cast, and before long Troy meets and falls in love with Sunday Tyler, who plays Andrea Harmon...the most hated and loved actress who ever graced a soap set. Despised by fans and co-workers, it isn't long before Sunday is also knifed to death. Troy sets out to solve her murder, but is distracted when his ex-girlfriend tells him she is pregnant and then is also murdered...this time poisoned by a lemon-meringue pie when she crashes Troy's apartment with his not yet returned keys. Troy finds himself at the top of the list of suspects for his ex's murder, even as he finds more and more of his personal items purloined by her and her doting mother pointing the finger at him.

HEARTBREAK HOSPITAL is a fun read, full of all the expected misery of a soap drama...a cast with lots to hide; the fan club filled with kooky women with a tentative grasp of reality; the token transsexual; the evil star's past; and the lovelorn cop. Slesar even throws an unexpected twist into the ending. But that would be telling.

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return to The Edge of Night, August 6, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Murder At Heartbreak Hospital (Hardcover)

Anyone who watched The Edge of Night is going to enjoy this wry peek at the inner workings of a daytime soap opera. Written by Henry Slesar, who was the head writer for The Edge of Night for many years, Murder at Hearbreak Hospital reads almost like a plot line from that fondly remembered series. Even the characters' names like Sunday Tyler or Milo Derringer sound like they could have come right out of Edge. There are lots of inside references to the daytime dramas (especially Edge), and Slesar's fans will not fail to notice his trademark "blue herrings."

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Waste Your Eyesight, July 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder At Heartbreak Hospital (Hardcover)

Although I only two-thirds of the way through this novel, I can safety assure other potential readers not to bother with this trite and strictly by the numbers murder mystery. The only real mystery is exactly how many typos you'll be able to pick up throughout this book. (Is it just me or has proofreading at publishing companies gone out of style) The proofing is so bad here the protagonist's name actually changes at 2 different points in the story. Even ardent soap fans will find little inside humor in this offering. Every soap reference is to The Edge of Night, a soap that went off the air years ago. (This author must have worked for the show). In short, mystery fans, soaps fans, and fans of good writing- skip this book.