The Reporter (Maxi Poole Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Kelly Lange (Author)

Book Description

Series: Maxi Poole Mysteries | Publication Date: March 14, 2002

Who killed Jack Nathanson, the Academy Award-winning director? Plenty of people had motives, including his old Chicago friend whom Jack screwed out of a production deal, and Meg Davis, a seriously disturbed former child star, who may have been sexually abused by Jack during filmings. Not to mention every one of his four ex-wives. But when Maxi Poole, Jack's third wife and Hollywood reporter of Channel 6 News, joins up with the police, they soon realise the murder is not a crime of passion. Now, with Maxi herself a moving target, Jack's housekeeper and latest wife soon become victims of a very angry person. And Jack's secret mistress, who had a longer shelf life than any of his wives, but less to show for the trouble, is about to take the spotlight.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The best parts of Lange's (Gossip and Trophy Wife) mystery debut are when the veteran Los Angeles news anchor and Hollywood insider lets her roots show, dropping gobbets of showbiz lore into the otherwise thin broth of a bland story. When Lange's Maxi Poole a tall blonde whom we first meet (at the funeral of her ex-husband, actor Jack Nathanson) wearing "a short, bright red, zip-up sweater with a red-and-white tweed miniskirt" describes the furnishings at Nathanson's Benedict Canyon home, anyone who has ever read a People profile will recognize the artwork: "Bulky, bizarre sculptures on pedestals, cryptic drawings and gigantic pieces of Expressionism, bloody, gory scenes portraying people cut in half, phantoms, ghouls, the devil in many forms, human and animal freaks of nature." Likewise, Maxi's work methods when she talks to the homicide detectives investigating Nathanson's murder also ring bright and true: "Still, she expected to learn something from the conversation a tone, an attitude, a feeling that they were really on to something, or not." But these original moments only serve to make the rest of this flabby tale about which one of Nathanson's horde of ex-wives and lovers actually knocked him off sound more like an Entertainment Tonight recycle than a hot news item although readers might have some fun trying to figure just how close the conniving, kinky and fatally charming Jack Nathanson is to a real-life star with a similar name. Agent, Robin Rue. (Mar. 14)Forecast: With a four-city author tour and plugs from the likes of Sidney Sheldon and Dominick Dunne, Lange, a former anchor and reporter for L.A.'s KNBC-TV and a correspondent for the daily news show Women 2 Women, should get off to a fast start. Hollywood gossip fans could sustain the momentum.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Glamorous TV news reporter Maxi Poole attends the funeral of her "movie-superhero" ex-husband because she suspects that another ex-wife will be charged with his killing. Sure enough, police arrest beautiful actress Debra (ex-wife No. 1 and a friend of Maxi) at the burial. Believing Debra to be innocent, Maxi (ex-wife No. 2) throws her investigative reporting into high gear amid the dead man's debtors, spurned paramours, and other enemies. Ably painted with all the requisite glitz, gossip, media hype, and sex that attend a Hollywood production, this makes a welcome romp for all collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (March 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892967528
• ISBN-13: 978-0892967520
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,513,406 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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun to read throwaway, March 6, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Reporter (Maxi Poole Mysteries) (Hardcover)

When he lived Oscar winning actor Jack Nathanson was the poster boy for all that is bad about Hollywood. Now he lies murdered in a lurid coffin proving that he represented more than just bad taste. His two ex-wives and his widow attend the ostentatious funeral as only the movie industry could perform for one of their own.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department arrest Jack first wife, actress Debra Angelo. His second spouse, TV reporter Maxie Poole refuses to believe that Debra committed the crime. Unable to allow an injustice to occur, Maxie begins to investigate the death of her former husband. She knew much of Tinseltown hated Jack, but not how many would willingly go out of character to put a couple of bullets into him. However, soon Maxie is struggling to prove her own innocence as more homicides follow.

THE REPORTER takes a Jackie Collins type novel and places it inside a who-done-it. The story line is at its best when it shines a gossipy light on Hollywood through Maxie's engaging inquiries. However, the problem with the tale lies in the original arrest of Debra on evidence that the Inquisition would have rejected as too insubstantial. The tale is a fun to read throwaway, as the plot is not quite Collins or a solidly based La-La Land mystery.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An easy read, September 26, 2003

By 

HeyJudy "heyjudy" (East Hampton, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Reporter (Maxi Poole Mysteries) (Hardcover)

THE REPORTER is an easy read, and a fun read as well.

Author Kelly Lange, herself a well-established news reporter in Los Angeles, has written a mystery featuring a well-established news reporter in Los Angeles. Not surprisingly, Ms. Lange offers wonderful background information for her story in addition to the actual plot.

THE REPORTER is frothy in content, but it also is plausible, and its setting is fascinating. The workings of the newsroom, as described by Ms. Lange, are particularly interesting.

Readers will come away with the sense of having been given a peek into the strange yet opulent lives of that group of people who, in Hollywood--and only in Hollywood--pass for the upper class.

Kelly Lange is poised to have a second career as a successful author.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun!, March 20, 2002

By 

Jane Austen "comedy fan" (Studio City, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Reporter (Maxi Poole Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Kelly Lange's new novel, featuring newswoman Maxie Poole, is great fun to read. Even if one does not enjoy the guessing game of "Who's the REAL Hollywood Figure" in the story, the mystery and the witty dialogue are engaging enough to make one eager for the next "Maxie Poole." (There is additional pleasure, of course, in putting REAL NAMES to the fictional characters, but this aspect of the novel is by no means vital to the reader's enjoyment.) Kelly Lange is a skillful storyteller, with a classic novelist's ability to make characters come alive on the page, combined with a journalist's gift for noticing the precise details which add richness and texture to the plot. "THE REPORTER" is a total pleasure for mystery fans. I recommend it without reservation.