The Toby Peters mystery series is set primarily in Hollywood, California. Each book in the series is centered around a celebrity. Toby is a perpetually down-on-his-luck private eye; the books are humorous and clever. There are 24 books in the series.
Murder on the Yellow Brick Road is set in 1940, and Judy Garland is one of the primary characters. Toby gets a call from Warren Hoff at M.G.M., who requests that he look into the death of a little person dressed up as a Munchkin. The body was found on an old set of The Wizard of Oz, which had come out the previous year. Toby soon meets Judy Garland, who had heard his name at a party recently and wants him to work on the case. In addition to the humor and the intricate mystery plot, this book also features cameos of Clark Gable and Raymond Chandler.
About the author:
Stuart M. Kaminsky (September 29, 1934 – October 9, 2009) was an American mystery writer and film professor. He is best known for the Toby Peters mysteries and the Inspector Rostnikov series set in Russia, consisting of 16 books. He received the 1989 Edgar Award for Best Novel for A Cold Red Sunrise, a novel in the Inspector Rostnikov series. He was a past president of the Mystery Writers of America and in 2006 received the Grand Master Award from that organization.
Kaminsky also published two shorter series. The Abe Lieberman series of ten books is set in Chicago; Lieberman is a sixty-year-old Chicago police detective. The Lew Fonesca series is set in Sarasota, Florida. Fonesca is a process server who ends up investigating crimes. There are 6 books in the series.
I am a big fan of Kaminsky's mysteries. I have read all but the last book in the Inspector Rostnikov series. I would like to read all of the Toby Peters books, but I have to find out how many books I already own. I have read the first book in both of the other two series and I thought they were excellent. The series are all different.
Oh, I like this series an awful lot, too, Tracy. Toby Peters is a great character, and I like Kaminsky's wit. I also like the look it gives at the Hollywood of those times. I'm very glad you enjoyed this one, and it's good to be reminded of thsee books...
ReplyDeleteMargot, I am curious about how the series progresses. Looking forward to finding out.
DeleteI have done the opposite, Tracy. I've read all the Toby Peters series and only one of the inspector Rostnikov series. I'm a big fan of Toby and hope to get to more Rastnikov soon. In addition to his mystery novels, Kaminsky was a film professor and historian; he was noted for writing the English dialogue for Sergio Leone's 1984 film ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA.
ReplyDeleteJerry, the only screenwriting I knew he had done was for one Nero Wolfe mystery in the TV series with Timothy Hutton.
DeleteThe next book I have in the Toby Peters series features Chico Marx and that will be interesting. I hope you enjoy reading more of the Rostnikov series.
I'm not usually drawn to stories set in Hollywood, but this sounds like a great series! I think it's fun when authors include real people in their fiction. I'll have to see if I can find any of these. Do they need to be read in order?
ReplyDeleteKelly, this is definitely a good series to try. They are short novels. I did not think I had read many books set in Hollywood (or at least partially) but a lot of the older ones have great descriptions. My husband and I used to visit Hollywood Boulevard a lot when we were "dating."
DeleteAs far as reading in order, I get different answers on that when I look it up. They say that the characters in the series change and develop over time, but the stories are self contained. My son recently read the fifth book in the series (featuring Bela Lugosi), with no previous introduction to the series, and he enjoyed it.
Another book I read this June was a mystery by Ray Bradbury set in Hollywood in 1954 (first published in 1990). Title is A Graveyard for Lunatics.
I must read Stuart Kaminsky because old Hollywood a great place to set a mystery. And Toby sounds interesting. Im curious if Toby will be asked to sove a crime involving the Maltese Falcon production. What a great cast Bogart, Lorre, Astor and Greenstreet
ReplyDeleteKathy, I think a story about the actors in Maltese Falcon would be great fun, too. I don't know a lot about what other actors or celebrities show up later but one of them is Howard Hughes, so not all are actors. Soon I hope to check out what other actors or famous characters are involved in the rest of the books in the series.
DeleteThis is a mega educated writer w/ B.S. in journalism and an M.A. in English and a Ph.D. in speech...and I'm sure his writing is going to be fun to read. Thanks for highlighting Stuart Kaminsky on your blog!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Nancy, Stuart Kaminsky has a lot to offer. I look forward to reading more in all of his series.
DeleteMy mother enjoyed his books so much.Hollywood, mystery and humor was her happy place.
ReplyDeletePatti, I am glad to hear about others who enjoyed his writing, especially the Toby Peters' stories, since I have a lot more of those to read. I like the humor in those stories.
DeleteThis sounds like a fun mystery! :D
ReplyDeleteThis one was a lot of fun, Lark, and I am guessing that the rest of the books in this series are the same.
DeleteIt sounds fun that each of the mysteries features a celebrity ... and that a munchkin has died in this one .... I hope Judy Garland knows something to add to the case.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I never realized that there were so many stars in Hollywood in the 1940s (or other remarkable people of that time). I think in one story he is in San Francisco, I wonder if he gets away from Southern California in any of the other books.
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