Monday, December 23, 2013

Book Review: Reel Stuff by Don Bruns


Reel Stuff
By Don Bruns
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
Published: December 3, 2013
ISBN: 9781608090969

Amazon Synopsis:

Is it suicide or murder when Academy Award winning actor Jason Londell leaps to his death during the filming of a TV show in Miami? Londell's actress girlfriend hires private investigators James Lessor and Skip Moore to investigate. They uncover a plot loaded with twists and fueled by money and greed.

The case sends James, Skip, and Skip's girlfriend Emily to Los Angeles where the blonde 

beauty goes undercover in Hollywood and is "discovered" by a talent agent. The normally level-headed Emily gets carried away by the dream of a career in pictures, but true to the cause of the case, she works with the guys to bring down the killer.

Caught up in the world of movies, actors, actresses, and Hollywood, the trio finds that it really is the land of make believe - but murder is still the real thing.

Book Links
Goodreads  *  Amazon  *  B&N

My Thoughts:

Reel Stuff is book 7 in Don Bruns “Stuff” series, but you definitely do not have to read any of the other books before this one to fully enjoy this easy reading mystery.

This book drew me in right from the start. Beginning with the filming of a scene in a TV show stunt that appears to be a suicide, James Lessor and Skip Moore get talked into looking further into the situation to determine if it really was suicide when Amber Ashley insists he was murdered. James and Skip are actually at odds about taking on the case as Skip was at the scene as part of the security team when the actor Jason Londell jumped off the 70 foot high scaffolding and landed 20 yards away from the large helium-filled cushion placed to catch his fall.

One thing leads to another and Skip and his girlfriend Emily fly to Los Angeles to examine Jason Londell’s connections there – in particular, his pregnant wife while James continues to look into things in Miami. While in Los Angeles, Emily is “discovered” and cast for a role on a new TV series in a matter of days. Swept up in the dazzling world of the stars, she still manages to help keep Skip from getting himself killed.

This novel was billed as the Hardy Boys grown up, and that was correct. If you enjoyed the Hardy Boys as a young person, you’ll likely enjoy these novels too. The book was written from Skip’s point of view and he narrates as though he is telling us his story, like we are sitting down together with a cup of coffee in his living room. There were lots of surprises in the plot and clues in the story that Skip points out as the trio discover them (usually in retrospect). That means that I actually had the opportunity to discover the clues myself, but mostly missed them.

I would not call this a clean romance, as there are some lustful scenes, but is also far from being erotic. There is a little bit of coarse language in the book, but I was able to skip over it without too much problem.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. For a mystery/suspense/thriller, it was on the lighter side, and I enjoyed the humour embedded within the story, such as the name of James and Skip’s Investigation company – Moore or Less Investigations. This book is full of lots of action. I thought it was very well-written and most enjoyable.

I gave this book four stars. I would have given it 4.5 stars, but I don’t have any half stars. I would definitely consider reading other books in this series.


Thank you to the publisher, Oceanview Publishing, through NetGalley, from which I received a review copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not required to give a positive opinion. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author:

Don Bruns is a novelist, advertising executive, musician, songwriter, cook and painter who has no idea what he wants to do when he grows up. He's the author of nine books and was editor of the mystery/music anthology A Merry Band Of Murderers.
Traveling the Caribbean for his Mick Sever series, or hovering around Miami for his "Stuff" series, Bruns enjoys the writing life.

Other Books by Don Bruns
Caribbean Thriller Collection:
Jamaica Blue
Barbados Heat
South Beach Shakedown
St. Bart’s Breakdown
Bahama Burnout

Stuff Series:
Stuff To Die For
Stuff Dreams Are Made Of
Stuff To Spy For
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Too Much Stuff
Hot Stuff

His two series have won numerous awards.

Contact the Author

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