Let's All Kill Constance

If you've ever had the honor of hearing Mr. Bradbury speak in person, this book is like an extension of what he speaks about on stage. This story has a strange flavor to it, like he's speaking about himself while actually participating in his own story as a character, much like his short "The Pedestrian". I'd almost go so far as to say that this one is best read by the fans who know a lot about Ray Bradbury the person rather than by those who've only read his work. I very much enjoyed this glimpse into the mind of a genius of our time.

I have been reading Ray Bradbury for close to 40 years now. He never ceases to amaze me. Wonderful book, well done, again !!

In "Let's all kill Constance" Ray Bradbury delivers a long awaited third noir tale that is set in the Venice Beach of 1960, but truely deeply rooted in the Hollywood of a bygone era. He also returns to the great character of Constance Rattigan, aging Hollywood diva, who was introduced in the superb "Death is a lonely business". In the current story Constance once again finds herself haunted by her Hollywood past as she finds an old phonebook at her door in which some of the names seem to be marked for death, the last survivors of her past apparently picked to die, her name labeled as well. So she runs to our narrator, nameless writer on the beach, and gets him and his trusted, grumpy sidekick Crumley into yet another adventure that explores the dark shadows of a Hollywood that is no more. Bradbury is still the superb poet of simple descriptions that are so engaging that they [pull] the reader into an imagery that will linger in your mind long after the last page is turned

There's a new Bradbury book out.Oh...I'm sorry. Are you still here? You need to know more than that? Well, I'm not really qualified to say more than that. Or, if I am qualified, let's say I'm not worthy. When I opened the manila envelope and LET'S ALL KILL CONSTANCE fell out, with the word "BRADBURY" across the top in big capital letters --- not "Ray Bradbury," just "BRADBURY" --- it struck me that this giant, this scribe, this national treasure has been writing classic stories for over 60 years now. People have been born, come of age, had children and passed of old age in that time and he is still writing ---and writing well. But you knew that already. Well, if you haven't read LET'S ALL KILL CONSTANCE, you might not be aware of the last point. So let me delay you for just another minute. LET'S ALL KILL CONSTANCE continues in the tradition of Bradbury's previous mystery novels, DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS and A GRAVEYARD FOR LUNATICS. The setting is once again Venice, California in the early 1950s and the narrator is a young, unnamed screenwriter who is, in fact, Bradbury. Bradbury actually has the chutzpah to begin LET'S ALL KILL CONSTANCE with the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night..." and actually has the talent to successfully bring it off --- in spades. On this particular dark and stormy night the narrator hears a tapping at his door and discovers Constance Rattigan, an aged, once-beautiful film star, bearing two worn telephone books that contain the names of Hollywood personalities, most of whom have passed over to the other side of the curtain. There are a few who are living but are also marked for death --- and one of them is Constance. The screenwriter enlists the aid of private detective Elmo Crumley ... and together they attempt to trace the owners of the names that are marked for death. More often than not, however, they find that they are, rather than too late, too early. Bradbury uses their search as a vehicle for a tour of Los Angeles, not only in the geographical sense, but also in a nostalgic one. While he mourns the glamour of the past, Constance seeks to escape it. Along the way, the reader sees the glitter of the facades as well as the alleys that run behind them. They are, as Bradbury demonstrates, inexorably intertwined.LET'S ALL KILL CONSTANCE is a mystery, yes, but Bradbury also injects element of satire, celebration and fantasy into the mix. He also, quite cleverly, references one of his best-known novels, though if you blink you'll miss it. Bradbury's ability to intersect mystery and fantasy --- and fantasy with reality --- remains as sharp and as engrossing as ever. LET'S ALL KILL CONSTANCE is not to be missed. ...