The Monet Murders

by Terry Mort

Overview

Hollywood, 1934. Prohibition is finally over, but there is still plenty of crime for an ambitious young private eye to investigate. Though he has a slightly checkered past, Riley Fitzhugh is well connected in the film industry and is hired by a major producer—whose lovely girlfriend has disappeared. He also is hired to recover a stolen Monet, a crime that results in two murders initially, with more to come.Along the way Riley investigates the gambling ships anchored off L.A., gets involved with the girlfriend of the gangster running one of the ships, and disposes of the body of a would-be actor who assaults Riley’s girlfriend. He also meets an elegant English art history professor from UCLA who helps Riley authenticate several paintings and determine which ones are forgeries. Riley lives at the Garden of Allah Hotel, the favorite watering place of screenwriters, and he meets and unknowingly assists many of them with their plots. Incidentally one of these gents, whose nom de plume is ‘Hobey Baker,’ might actually be F. Scott Fitzgerald . . .Evoking the classic hardboiled style, The Monet Murders is a charmingly cosy murder mystery by a novelist whose "lucid, beautifully written books are a pleasure to read." (The Wall Street Journal)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605986975
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Terry Mort studied English literature at Princeton University. Later he served as an officer in the navy, including a lengthy deployment to Vietnam. He is the author of a book on fly-fishing and, most recently, The Hemingway Patrols and The Wrath of Cochise. He has also edited works on Mark Twain, Jack London, and Zane Grey. He lives with his wife in Sonoita, Arizona.

Editorial Reviews

06/29/2015
Some readers may find it tough to take someone calling himself Bruno Feldspar seriously—and the fledgling PI using that nom de guerre most decidedly doesn’t, part of the charm of this breezy debut noir set in Tinseltown circa 1934. Though there are, as the title promises, multiple stiffs in this deft blend of art theft, adultery, and Hollywood sleaze, Mort (The Hemingway Patrols) generally keeps the banter-filled proceedings as bubbly as the beverage his handsome protagonist frequent shares with a number of knockouts, notably Garbo-esque Myrtle George, whom he has helped nail a studio contract. The intrigue centers on Bruno’s investigation into the possible switch of an ersatz Monet with the real deal—and, if so, what this might have to do with at least two violent deaths—but much of the novel’s appeal lies in its rogues’ gallery of characters, including raffish British art expert “Bunny” Finch-Hayden and Bruno’s hard-boiled part-time secretary, Della, who also runs an escort service. Readers will hope to see more of Bruno. Agent: Don Fehr, Trident Media. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A romp through the lighter side of the noir detective life. Readers may recognize some of the characters from real life (is that F. Scott Fitzgerald?), and all will enjoy how Mort makes Riley the pivot point of this fast-paced adventure.

Historical Novels Review

Terry Mort writes hard-boiled detective fiction like we all imagine it was once written. Enjoyable and entertaining.

Bookgasm

2015-07-01
Mort, author of volumes about Cochise, Custer, and Hemingway, takes a fictional look at Depression-era Hollywood. Sex with Ethel Welkin has its rewards, as Riley Fitzhugh discovers. The chunky matron isn't half bad in the sack; even better, she's the cousin of producer Manny Stairs. And it's Ethel's introduction of Riley to her cousin that sets Riley's career as a detective into high gear, since Stairs, having long ago abandoned his given name of Shlomo Rabinowitz, wants to hire the aspiring gumshoe to find his missing girlfriend, Catherine Moore, who's a dead ringer for Minnie David, Stairs' late wife. Of course, Stairs doesn't know Riley as Riley. Like Old Possum's cats, the sleuth has three separate names. To chumps like Stairs, he's Bruno Feldspar, while highbrows like art professor Dennis "Bunny" Finch-Hayden know him as Thomas Parke D'Invilliers. Bunny is helping Riley/Bruno/D'Invilliers authenticate a Monet stolen from Charles Watson, possibly by Wilbur Hanson, the lover of Mrs. Emily Watson. While juggling the Moore and Monet cases, Riley also juggles Ethel, his girlfriend; Myrtle George, who's about to achieve stardom under the screen name Yvonne Adore; Isabelle Fern, a neighbor of the Watsons whose movie career as Rita Lovelace isn't quite as promising as Myrtle/Yvonne's; and Catherine, whom he eventually locates aboard a gambling boat. Between shtupping (Riley's favorite term for his carnal romps, borrowed from Manny) and thinking up pseudonyms, there isn't much time for detecting. Luckily for him, the cases basically solve themselves. Stretches of moderately brisk dialogue are punctuated by absolute clunkers, like Mort's description of Ethel, who "resembled a fire hydrant in both length and shape." As Manny might say, there's just too much meshugas here.

Kirkus Reviews

The terms noir and delightful usually aren’t used together, but they pair up happily in this entertaining romp. Mort has fun with noir conventions but never mocks them—a difficult trick to bring off and he does it masterfully.

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