Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Murder Unscripted (Eddie Collins) by Clive Rosengren

There is a reason I set my Noah Milano series in LA. I still think it is the perfect place for a PI series with all the glitz and glamour overshadowed by the dark and gritty side of Hollywood.
The fact this novel is firmly set in Hollywood and was written by a retired actor, making sure the facts were right, made me eager to read it.
Eddie Collins is a not so succesful author who supplements his income as a PI instead of being a waiter. When his ex-wife is killed on a film set he is hired to investigate her death and ends up uncovering some unsavory going-ons in Tinseltown.
This is very much so a whodunnit and we mainly follow Eddie investigating almost police procedural style the murders in the book. In fact, I thought the cops were a bit too helpful to the investigator.
Eddie is a good enough PI, but I felt his character might have benefited from being just a bit more pronounced. He didn't really stand out too much from a dozen other eyes.
The writing is at its best when it delves into Eddie's emotions and I liked the short chapters that made the plot move along quickly, which is needed when you focus so much on visiting and talking to suspects.
All in all a good book, but not a stand-out. I am sure though, this is one writer who will be getting better with every book so I hope to read a second one in this series.

1 comment:

www.carlbrookins.com said...

Clive's book is an enjoyable insider look at the workings of Hollywood, packaged with a good mystery.