Part of Series
Basking in the recent success of The Thin Man, William Powell and Myrna Loy stumble onto a situation so typically Hollywood that only the real-life incarnation of Nick and Nora Charles could take the case. A Hollywood madam publicizes that she's in need of money, effectively putting the squeeze on many of Hollywood's leading men by implying that soon she might be desperate enough to sell the contents of her "little black book." A book like that could do a lot of damage in a town where Louis B. Mayer is not above exercising the morals clauses in his actors' contracts to suit his own schemes, where gossip spreads faster than you can say Louella Parsons, and where celebrity secrets are a valuable commodity - or a motive for murder. William Powell and Myrna Loy, the silver screen's most charming sleuthing couple, bring their roles as Nick and Nora Charles back to life alongside George Baxt's fictional investigating trio of Herb Villon, Hazel Dickson, and Jim Mallory. Once again, Baxt delivers a witty, engaging mystery depicting Hollywood in its heyday as only he can.
Author
George Baxt, the US playwright, scriptwriter and novelist, in New York City, USA. He began his career as a radio announcer, an actors' agent, and television scriptwriter. He claimed that as an actors' agent he threw James Dean out of his office because he needed a bath. George Baxt's career developed into scriptwriting cult horror films. He made a contribution to The Abominable Dr Phibes, although it was uncredited. His first novel A Queer Kind of Death, (1966), introduced the detective Pharoah Love who was the first in the genre to be both black and openly gay. The novel was very well received and marked the start of a new career in writing. Two further Pharoah Love novels soon appeared and were widely regarded as superior to the first. Nearly three decades passed before the final outings of Pharoah Love in two novels. Meanwhile George Baxt introduced the detective duo Sylvia Plotkin and Max van Larsen, but these were soon abandoned and several non-series novels were produced. Starting with The Dorothy Parker Murder Case, George Baxt then began to use his knowledge of Hollywood life by using celebrities as characters in a series of detective novels. He died following complications after heart surgery. Interesting obituary here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obi...
