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
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
No comments :
Post a Comment