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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Barb Radmore,
This review is from: The Wicked and the Dead (Paperback)
Robert Weibezahl has taken us to the heart of Hollywood in his new book The Wicked and the Dead. And a cold black heart it is! It is an insider's look at the business of films and film makers. Since he himself worked seven years in film production for major studios he is able to show the reader this world fine detail. It is this setting that makes this book unique within the current market for crime fiction.
Billy Winnetka is an script writer who has worked in Hollywood for a long time, maybe too long. He has survived in the business, knows a lot of people, but the times are changing. He still gets an occasional call for a "meeting" but they are getting farther apart. On the other hand, Billy still has money coming in, a place to live and a nice Saab. With Joanie Mitchell in the tape deck, a good used book store near by and an ex-wife who still speaks to him, life is not too bad. Maybe this is why the murder of Harold Clausen hits him the wrong way. Clausner a producer acquaintance of his, meets with an accident on the way to a meeting with Billy, but the accident is a bit suspicious. As other old acquaintances are also permanently edited out of life Billy gets to work to figure out who is the final editor. This book is just plain fun. Billy Winnetka is a character you hope to meet again. He is not the brightest crime solver ever introduced, but he tries and cares- what else can be asked for in the bad, bright world of Hollywood? This book is for anyone who just wants to spend a few hours lost in the fake glitter of Tinseltown, absorbed in a well constructed murder mystery. A throw back to the style of the 50s, it is a pleasant addition to the modern crime over easy novels.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly recommended,
This review is from: The Wicked and the Dead (Paperback)
I picked up this book after seeing the author interviewed on television. Weibezahl's writing is as intriguing as his conversation; his book is one of the most accurate re-creations of 1990's Hollywood around, with a complex plot, a clever fusion of characters and a hero you actually care about. I found Billy Winnetka's transformation from clueless screenwriter to competent amateur detective as fascinating as the murder he solves. Equally impressive is the author's understanding of how much connections matter in Hollywood-whether you're trying to sell a script, get cast or solve a string of grisly murders. I highly recommend it.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing story,
By Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Wicked and the Dead (Paperback)
Hollywood scriptwriter Billy Winnetka inadvertently finds himself cast in a real-life crime drama featuring murder, mayhem, and vice. Producer Harold Clausen sets up a meeting regarding a project that Billy has developed. But, when Clausen fails to show up for the appointment and is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Billy decides to investigate. His first duty is to comfort the luscious widow Mitzi, a not so typical "Hollywood wife." She and Clausen were more than just acquaintances to Billy.
Is it chauvinism or curiosity that motivates him to take on the role of gumshoe in this increasingly complicated investigation? Enter the ever-suspicious Sgt. Goold who hates the movie business and warns Billy away. Outsmarting Goold becomes a mission for Billy when he discovers that there are other sudden and mysterious deaths of people who had worked with Harold Clausen. This leads him straight into the danger zone. And as Sgt. Goold so aptly states, "Bad stuff coming down, Mr. Winnetka. Amateur sleuth meets up with not-so-amateur criminal. I told you not to get involved." With Los Angeles as the movie world setting, the scenes are reminiscent of a classic film noir that would appeal to fans of Robert Parker and Sidney Sheldon. Tony, the intrepid assistant to the murdered producer, is cast as the perfect foil to Billy Winnetka. Young, earnest and deeply involved in the Hollywood gay scene, Tony careens his way through the story in a 1969 magenta-colored Pontiac Catalina that "seemed to be held together by equal parts of body putty and goodwill." He manages to elude death and helps to uncover the pieces that will eventually solve this puzzling chain of crime. Armchair Interviews says: Robert Weibezahl succeeds in writing an intriguing story--in spite of distracting text riddled with editorial mistakes.
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