Murder on the Yellow Brick Road

Another highly enjoyable read from Stuart Kaminsky, these read well, the stories flow wonderfully and there is always a hollywood star involved, this one it's Judy Garland. These are well worth a read, if you can get hold of them.

This book is one of the first mystery novels that I've ever picked up, started, and felt compelled to keep reading until I finished it. Stuart Kaminsky blends the familiar elements of a murder mystery with a good dose of humor and eroticism (don't worry, it's not obscene). The whole book is tied together with the completely unpredictable, sick, yet hilarious conclusion. I'm not a person who reads a lot of mystery novels (or a lot of books in general), but Stuart Kaminsky is the most fun author I have ever read. Murder on the Yellow Brick Road was the first Kaminsky book I read, and it led me to buy 2 more of his books (Dancing in the Dark and The Devil Met a Lady), both of which are similarly fun but not quite as good from a mystery reader standpoint. If you're just looking for a good mystery novel that is also very fun, go ahead and pick up a copy of Murder on the Yellow Brick Road. Oh, and don't let your kids read it.

The dust jacket on the hardcover is apropos. It has a picture of a bleeding Munchkin with a dagger through his heart lying on the Yellow Brick Road.It's November 1, 1940. The Wizard of OZ premiered last year. FDR is running for a 3rd term. Who is killing former Munchkins? Is Judy Garland in danger? Tobias Leo Pevsner, (a/k/a Toby Peters) P.I. is on the case for MGM. (MGM wants to control publicity spin and avoid official police "blue tape.)The book, written by a Northwestern University film professor, is a take-off on the "hard-boiled" detective sagas of an earlier age. In a hilarious plot twist, Toby stumbles on some guy he's never heard of who claims to be a writer of detective stories. The guy's name? "Chandler, Raymond Chandler" who tells our hero he has written a couple of books: "The Big Sleep" and "Farewell, My Lovely" - neither of which our hero has ever heard of either. Nonetheless, Mr. Chandler becomes his sometime partner on the case. If you like things Oz, I recommend this book and also the movie "Under the Rainbow" - a spoof of the making of the Wizard of Oz, with Chevy Chase and Carrie Fisher trying to manage the mischievous Munchkins.

clever mystery writing from one of the best contemplorary mystery writeres--evocative of the 40s and with a cool cover!

This is a charming story all about the discovery of a murdered munchkin one year after the film had been completed.The corpse is discovered on the set of Munchkinland, and Judy Garland, nervous and frightened, hires a detective to find the killer. It's short, creative, and a nice look at the 1930's era of Hollywood.