A Few Minutes Past Midnight by
Stuart M. Kaminsky
hbk out November 02
Published by Orion
at £17.99
This book is a delight and I'm off to find more Toby Peters stories in the
library. No wonder Kaminsky won an Edgar with one of his seventy
previous novels.
Toby Peters is a private eye in Los Angeles - and God knows we have
plenty of that sort of book - but the author's portrayal of his seedy life style
is hilarious, from his deaf landlady to his midget friend Gunther. The stories
are set in the 'forties (I learned with some surprise that the US had food and
petrol coupons during the war) and Toby specialises in helping famous film
stars with his investigative skill. Other novels on the series have involved
John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart and the Marx Brothers, but this one
concerns Charlie Chaplin, who has an apparently mad midnight caller who
threatens him with a knife. Toby finds a list of women's names, most of
which are crossed out and prove to be dead, the book being a race to find
the remaining ladies and try to protect them.
The plot is fast-paced and almost believable, but the attraction of the book is
in the writing. It is clear that Kaminsky enjoys every word of it himself and
this comes across to the reader in the easy flow and the abundant wit.
Good fun and a great read!
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
A Few Minutes Past Midnight by
Stuart M. Kaminsky
