Customer Reviews

Shamus in the Green Room

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I guess I should have read one of the other books first, because I found myself constantly confused in the book about Cece Caruso's life. Right in the first two pages she introduces eight characters who I guess regular readers would know all about, but I found it very bewildering. For the first hundred pages of the mystery, I suspected Vincent, then I realized he was Cece's son in law and therefore presumably part of the regular cast of characters. Okay, so Cece is supposed to be 39, and she's already a grandma?

I really dislike people who refer to their girlfriends, boyfriends or whatever by their last name. Maybe Lauren Bacall could get away with calling her husband "Bogie," but in others it's an unbearable affectation, and in fictional characters it's even worse. And yet every other mystery author has her heroine do this. ("Gambino came over sometime after midnight. He held me close, massaged my sore back, changed my bandage, gave me Advil, and didn't say much, all of which I appreciated.") I guess he's her fiance. I read this book when it was still in its ARC wrappers, and the title was SAM SPADE IN THE GREEN ROOM. Wonder why it was scrapped for the less distinctive SHAMUS? Possibly some unresolved legal issues over the use of Sam Spade's name. Pity that, because in the book as it stands, Cece's knowledge of Dashiell Hammett's life seems woefully underused, just a peg on which to capture the attention of an important Hollywood star, the Brad Pitt clone Rafe Simic, here torn between the past, a beachtown Jennifer Aniston, and the far-off promise of an alluring Angelina Jolie type. Where does Cece fit into the mix? The whole story will be woefully obvious to anyone who has ever seen I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, or read the Lois Duncan YA classic it was based on.

There are some good chills, particularly when Grandma Cece begins to suspect that the body she and Rafe identified in the morgue as a former girlfriend's may not actually have been hers--and too late, the body's been cremated already! Can Cece credit her own senses? What about her instincts as a biographer? Susan Kandel, a top art writer and novelist, credits Didi Dunphy among her acknowledgements. Dunphy, one of the best painters in the USA, is also a super friend and a charming raconteur. One of these days I hope she will be writing a detective series, perhaps set in the art world. In the meantime I look forward to CHRISTIETOWN, the next Cece Caruso mystery, which we are promised next year. I hope the Christie estate doesn't come back on Kandel, forcing her to change the name of her book to ENGLISHLADYTOWN. In the meantime I'll make a little family tree to distinguish all of Cece's boyfriends, grandchildren, neighbors and girlfriends, all of which she's got one too many of if you ask me, which I know you haven't.

When Cece Caruso first starting writing biographies of mystery authors, her first subject was Dashiel Hammett. Now, ten years later, that book is going to be turned into the movie DASH! Even better, Hollywood hunk Rafe Simic is set to star in the duel role of Hammett and his most famous creation, Sam Spade.

There's just one tiny problem - Rafe hates to read and has no knowledge about Dashiel Hammett. Cece is hired to give him a two-week crash course on the man and his work.

Their first stop, San Francisco, is cut short when Rafe receives a phone call. There is a body in the Los Angeles morgue that he needs to identify. Asking Cece to go with him for moral support, Rafe finally identifies the woman as his former girlfriend Maren. Based on an old picture, Cece begins to question whether the woman she saw lying on the coroner's table is really Maren. Is Cece right? If so, who could it be? And why did Rafe lie?

As always, author Susan Kandel has created an intriguing story. The premise gripped me early on, and I couldn't wait to see how things unraveled. While previous volumes have had problems with pacing, this one didn't. The mystery is introduced early and little slows it down until we finally get some answers. Along the way, we are teased with clues that shed some light on the puzzle but not enough to give anything away. The information on Dashiel Hammett given in the book is interesting but doesn't get in the way of the story.

Cece lets very little get in the way once she is on the trail of the mystery. Her determination is endearing but also keeps putting her in danger. Some have complained that she takes dumb chances, but I don't think she is any riskier then most amateur sleuths.

With the focus more on the mystery, some of the supporting players don't get as much page time. Lael and Bridget, Cece's best friends, do show up several times, but little is added to their character. Getting more time is fiancee Peter Gambino and daughter Annie, who both have interesting sub-plots that weave their way through the story. This book is populated with interesting new characters. We get to know the most about Rafe, which gives us an amusing look at life in the Hollywood spotlight. The case leads Cece to a coastal town where she meets some fun surfer types.

All this is enhanced by a breezy writing style that drew me into the story and made for fast, easy reading. I got lost in the story more then once and had a hard time putting it down when I needed to get back to other things.

This series has gotten better with each book. This is easily the strongest in the series. Here's hoping the next can top it.

While "Shamus in Green" did prove, ultimately, to be an enjoyable read, it did lack some of the vibrancy and sparkling quality that I had so appreciated in Susan Kandel's first Cece Caruso novel, "I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason" -- also, there were bits in the book where I began to wonder about Cece's thought process, but, on the whole, the book was a wonderfully engrossing read nevertheless.

When the first biography Cece penned on Dashiell Hammett is optioned for a movie, she's thrilled beyond words; but when she discovers that the production company that bought the rights to her book, In the Green, is actually going to make the movie and that it would star current Hollywood heartthrob, Rafe Simmic -- well, nothing could quite encapsulate her feelings. Hired to tutor Rafe on Hammett's life (let's just be polite and note that the man has a short attention span problem), the last thing Cece expected was to have to accompany the star to the morgue in order to identify a body. It appears that a body of a woman has washed up, and the only personal affect she seems to have on her is an old 'photo of Rafe. Rafe quickly confirms that she was an old girl friend, Maren, and sister of his manager, Will Lavander. Based on Rafe's and Will's testimony, the coroner and police judge Maren's death to be a suicide and close the case. But an interesting detail catches Cece's eye and soon, she's going where 'angels fear to go' in order to make sense of Maren's death and figure out what's actually going on...

The plot was an interesting one: was the dead woman Maren or wasn't she? Had she committed suicide, or hadn't she? And what was everyone trying so hard to hide? And while all these interesting plot twists made for a rather interesting and absorbing read, I still rather missed the sparkling vibrancy that had so coloured the author's first book, "I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason." Also, I have to admit that Cece's behaviour had me shaking my head in disbelief at times. Here's a woman who's rather savy and yet, in this particular installment, she seems to have lost her natural sense of self preservation. Over and over again, Cece would voice her belief that whoever she was talking to might be a killer -- and often, they'd be in some secluded spot and alone to top it all! How intelligent was that? I don't really like my detective heroines to be that foolish, and Cece's silliness really detracted from much of my reading pleasure. Still, "Shamus in the Green Room" did possess enough plot twists and intrigue to keep me and any Hammett fan happy -- even if "Shamus in the Green Room" was more of a cozy than a hard-boiled mystery novel. Fairly fast paced and with some rather humorous and ironic observations, plus some rather interesting historical/biographical notes about Hollywood and certain personalities (esp Hammett), "Shamus in the Green Room" was an enjoyable and satisfying book, and proved to be the ultimate relaxing weekend read.

My brother loaned me this book because he loves chick lit (the sassier the single girl, the better), and I love noir (especially Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler). He suggested that this book may be as close as our literary interests will ever get. I can see his point - the book is full of Hammett trivia, along with details about the California that gave birth to so many rich noir stories, both in books and in life. I learned entertaining details about noir film stars, the studio system, and Los Angeles geography. The majority of the book, though, is relatively unremarkable chick lit, and that overwhelms the noir sensibilities and values. It's kind of funny, the characters are mostly likable, and the various mysteries are intriguing (although the conclusion is unsatisfying), so by chick lit standards this is pretty good, but by noir standards, it just doesn't work like it should.

Ms. Kandel has really come into her own with "Shamus in the Green Room". I enjoyed this book from page one until the end - I have been going crazy reading every new mystery I can get my hands on for research on writing my first mystery novel and this one is at the top of my list. This was the best of the three - with so many layers and a lot of humor, but not too cutsy like some of the other authors. Ms. Kandel- Hurry, we need with the next one!!

I really look forward to the Cece Caruso books. This one was very good - kept moving, no real slow spots, well thought out plot.

I really enjoy Cece herself, even though she does some dumb things. She is smart, and I enjoy the information about whatever author is the focus of the story. I would like to see a little more depth developing, and longer books, although I'm not particularly hopeful, given that really short books (e.g Janet Evanovich) seem to sell better than slightly denser ones.

I haven't read much Hammett to make the comparison for this volume, but I had a sense that Kandel's first two books in the series ("I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason", and "Not a Girl Detective") took their structure from the featured author's work. The Perry Mason book dealt with a trial and a miscarriage of justice (very Perry Mason) and the Nancy Drew book had Cece and her good girlfriends heading out for a "girls outing" only to become entangled in a mystery involving spooky pasts and shady characters. So, if Hammett's work typically featured lost souls and twisted loyalties, Kandel once again hits the mark. "Shamus in the Green Room" paints an atmosphere that is compelling but didn't give me as much Dashiell Hammett as I'd expected considering Cece is supposed to be immersing actor Rafe Simic for a role as Hammett. The resolution of the mystery definitely leaves you with that hopeless feeling that a lot of the old "noir" genre does. I enjoyed the book and look forward to seeing what Kandel does in "Christietown" (and I'm wondering if she'll do Chandler!).

This is the first of Kandel's books I've read. I found it most interesting and will certainly read her others. I think Cece is a very likeable protagonist although, I agree, she does take some risks that may seem a bit unrealistic. I like the concept of a biographer of dead mystery writers. Hey Susan, can't wait for Raymond Chandler...

Love this series, Cece is a hoot, but this one was not as good as the others. Seemed a little rushed, not as detailed as the others but overall a good read.

Mystery author biographer and noted fashion plate Cece Caruso is providing consulting services to the In the Green Room movie production company filming her work Dash! The star, Hollywood hunk Rafe Simic looks great as and would make a dashing Dashiell Hammett or for that matter Sam Spade, but the sexy actor refuses to read her book or any of the great late author's works as he prefers surfing the waves. To help Rafe taste the part, Cece agrees to escort him on a tour of Hammett's San Francisco.

Not long after they arrive in San Francisco, the Los Angeles Coroner's Office asks Rafe to come home to identify a corpse of a woman who has his card on her. He says the deceased is his former girlfriend Maren Levander and sister of his best friend and manager. With Rafe a person of interest, Cece investigates what the police suspect is a homicide made to look like a suicide over the objection of fiancé, police detective Peter Gambino.

Cece remains a refreshing protagonist who cherishes deceased mystery writers and cannot help but get involved in clearing up ambiguities in their lives (see I DREAMED I MARRIED PERRY MASON and NOT A GIRL DETECTIVE), and landing in a modern whodunit. On top of a fine amateur sleuth investigation, Cece has personal disputes with her adult daughter and Peter. When the author tosses in Hammett to a superb tale it leads to readers admiring Susan Kandel's amazing talent.

Harriet Klausner