- Audio CD
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0792759788
- ISBN-13: 978-0792759782
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 16.5 x 3.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 363 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Take on Old Hollywood - in Modern Eyes,
By
This review is from: Alone (Paperback)
In "Alone," the second Valentino novel from Loren D. Estleman, our film detective finds himself up to his ears in renovating the old movie palace he's bought, with the help of his contractor, Kalishnikov (really!), and hindered by a supercilious government building inspector who could make life very difficult for him indeed. In the meantime, a very wealthy magnate has invited Valentino and his date, Harriet, to a party in honour of Greta Garbo's centenary, requesting everybody to dress in appropriate costume. Harriet turns out to be a dead ringer for Garbo, which causes the host - whose late wife was a great friend of the film goddess - to faint, which in turn allows him to talk privately to Valentino about the fact that his secretary is blackmailing him with a letter, purported to be from Garbo to his late wife and suggesting a very, er, intimate relationship between them. When said magnate subsequently shoots and kills said secretary, citing blackmail and physical threats as the cause, Valentino reluctantly finds himself teaming up with a fairly unsavory police lieutenant to get to the bottom of the matter.... I rarely read books by the same author back-to-back, as usually the enjoyment is diluted by repetition, but in this case, I found Valentino just as engaging and entertaining as I did in the first novel, "Frames." Relationships deepen here, between Valentino and Harriet, and between Valentino and Professor Broadhead, and between the Prof and Fanta, a decades-younger woman who is studying law at UCLA. The resolution of the situation was not what I expected, and the tidbits about the screen icon, Garbo, both during her time in Hollywood and in her reclusive life afterwards, were fascinating to read. Again, Estleman concludes the novel with bibliographies, about Garbo in particular and silent films moving into talkies more generally, and provides a generous filmography of Garbo's films, with detailed synopses. How often can you say you've read a novel with real-world appendices like that? Recommended!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hollywood Goofiness, Odeon Restoration, Movie History, Film Preservation, Garbo, Murder, Detection, Romance, and Humor,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Alone (Hardcover)
"Now when evening came, He was alone there." -- Matthew 14:23Don't start this series with Alone: Go back and read Frames first, the initial book in the Valentino series. I'm a big fan of Loren D. Estleman and picked up a copy of Alone on the strength of that liking. Utterly charmed by the story, I pulled my reading temporarily to a halt mid-way through and headed out to find Frames. The back story for Alone seemed just too good to be true. I had to find out more. I'm sure glad that I did. I won't share any details. That will rob the story of its charm. Mr. Estleman can tell Valentino's story much better than I can hope to do. If you are looking for an action thriller with a hard-boiled detective in a noir style, Alone won't appeal to you. But if you have a fondness for Hollywood, the history of the movies, the silent movie era, and a romantic mystery filled with outrageously good humor, Alone will charm you for sure. On the surface, Alone can feel like fluff . . . but beneath the almost self-satirical humor lies a delightful plot, a gag environment, and a Keystone Kops-like approach to detection that fits closer to Stephanie Plum than to Sherlock Holmes. Be warned that the murder mystery is simply there to move the plot along. If you like difficult whodunits, this book also isn't for you. To me, the humorous mystery is the most difficult kind of book to write. Mr. Estleman carries it off like the pro that he is. He's having so much fun with this story that you cannot help but smile at the plot and in his obvious pleasure in writing the book. If you have ever been hassled by a building inspector, you'll especially like this book. Bravo!
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews) 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hollywood Goofiness, Odeon Restoration, Movie History, Film Preservation, Garbo, Murder, Detection, Romance, and Humor,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Alone (Hardcover)
"Now when evening came, He was alone there." -- Matthew 14:23Don't start this series with Alone: Go back and read Frames first, the initial book in the Valentino series. I'm a big fan of Loren D. Estleman and picked up a copy of Alone on the strength of that liking. Utterly charmed by the story, I pulled my reading temporarily to a halt mid-way through and headed out to find Frames. The back story for Alone seemed just too good to be true. I had to find out more. I'm sure glad that I did. I won't share any details. That will rob the story of its charm. Mr. Estleman can tell Valentino's story much better than I can hope to do. If you are looking for an action thriller with a hard-boiled detective in a noir style, Alone won't appeal to you. But if you have a fondness for Hollywood, the history of the movies, the silent movie era, and a romantic mystery filled with outrageously good humor, Alone will charm you for sure. On the surface, Alone can feel like fluff . . . but beneath the almost self-satirical humor lies a delightful plot, a gag environment, and a Keystone Kops-like approach to detection that fits closer to Stephanie Plum than to Sherlock Holmes. Be warned that the murder mystery is simply there to move the plot along. If you like difficult whodunits, this book also isn't for you. To me, the humorous mystery is the most difficult kind of book to write. Mr. Estleman carries it off like the pro that he is. He's having so much fun with this story that you cannot help but smile at the plot and in his obvious pleasure in writing the book. If you have ever been hassled by a building inspector, you'll especially like this book. Bravo!
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Combination is Unbeatable,
By John H. Eckert "rockyeckert" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Alone (Hardcover)
Loren Estleman and Valentino are a combination that cannot be beat. The only tie would be with Robert B. Parker and Spenser. Keep them coming!
4.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining mystery for film buffs.,
By Rob Mattheu - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Alone (Hardcover)
Valentino is a film detective, a man that tracks down rare and historic films to be preserved and restored. Matthew Rankin is a developer who has a complete copy of a Greta Garbo's rare first film, a commercial entitled "How Not To Dress". When Rankin shoots his assistant dead, he brings Valentino in to explain why he did it. It seems the assistant has blackmailed him with a letter claiming that Garbo and his late wife had a lesbian affair and then became violent, so Rankin shot him. In exchange for Valentino being a witness who can clear his clearing his name, Rankin offers Valentino Garbo's first film.Like all good mysteries, all is not how it seems, however, and the rest of the book has Valentino fighting with his best friend, his girlfriend, a corrupt building inspector that is keeping him from completing work on his lifelong dream of owning a theater, and a dogged detective who hates people of privilege and believes Rankin actually committed a murder in cold blood, not self defense. Loren Estleman has crafted an entertaining book that is a must for lovers of film history. The book is not a suspenseful page turner, but the light and breezy tone, well crafted characters, and Estleman's obvious love of the subject matter will keep readers turning pages. |
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