Grove Point Press
Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Members' Titles
This
is the first book I have read in the Hollywood Murder Mysteries series and I
thoroughly enjoyed it. Part of the pleasure for me was the locale, Quebec City
in the 1950’s. I live in the Province of
Quebec and am familiar with the city.
The main stage for the story is the Chateau Frontenac, one of the grande
dames of Canadian hotels.
The
story revolves around the filming of the Alfred Hitchcock movie, “I Confess” which
really was filmed in Quebec City in 1952. The main character is amicable Joe
Bernardi who works for Warner Brothers Studios making sure all the press and
publicity surrounding the film is positive. The story is written in the first
person giving it a “film noir” atmosphere, very appropriate and true to the
movie. A beautiful “femme fatale”, Jeanne
D’Arcy, the Quebec Film Commissioner, arrives to help Joe sort out a few things
with the press and smooth some troubled waters.
But then Jeanne is arrested for the murder of her ex-lover and Joe is
convinced she didn’t do it.
Is
Joe being naïve and taken in by the lovely Jeanne? Is Jeanne being framed? Who is following Joe around and why is he being
shot at? Will the Archbishop shut down
the film because of the scandal?
The
book is just great fun. I appreciated reading about a movie production in the
1950’s, Hitchcock and his wife, Montgromery Clift, Anne Baxter and references to
other Hollywood stars of the era. I especially like Hitchcock and am partial to this period
for movies when the emphasis was on great storytelling and character development, not special effects and shock value. I also liked how
Peter Fischer interlaces history, fact and fiction. Some of the characters could have been fleshed out a bit
more and there are a few inaccuracies (i.e. Montreal is not the capital of the
Province of Quebec, even though it should be), but hey, a little artistic license doesn’t detract from
the main event – a story that holds your attention.
So,
despite the fact that this is book seven in the series, I found it a great initiation
to the series and a good read.
Here is a link to an interview with Peter S. Fischer.
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