2016, ISBN: 1531815235

[SR: 1455508], MP3 CD, [EAN: 9781531815233], Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged, Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio, Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio, Book, [PU: Audible Studios on Bril… Plus…

[SR: 1455508], MP3 CD, [EAN: 9781531815233], Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged, Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio, Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio, Book, [PU: Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio], 2016-08-02, Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio, Illusion gets more deadly than reality on Toby Peters's twenty-fourth outing from Edgar-winning author Stuart M. Kaminsky. A string of star-studded successes - most recently with Cary Grant in To Catch a Spy and an edgy Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierced - has won Tinseltown detective Toby Peters a bit of local celebrity, and that's something his new client, Harry Blackstone, understands.At the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, Blackstone is billed as the World's Greatest Living Magician. Of course, should the giant buzz saw in the climax to Blackstone's act cut the beautiful young woman in fact in half, his sterling reputation would be ruined. And someone among the Los Angeles Friends of Magic is decidedly intent upon ruining it - whatever the price, including the life of Toby's prime suspect.Unfortunately, with the corpse count mounting, the evidence is pointing increasingly to Toby's client as the man behind the murders. As always, adding to the wackiness of Toby's investigation are the ungentle dentist Sheldon Minck, wrestler-poet Jeremy Butler, the suave, small-statured Swiss multilingualist Gunter Wherthman, and daffy Mrs. Plaut. But to solve the case, Toby finds he needs someone else - the dashing star of the movie A Thousand and One Nights, Cornel Wilde., The storytelling formula Stuart M. Kaminsky employs in his madcap mysteries featuring low-rent, World War II-era Los Angeles private eye Toby Peters has proved remarkably successful over more than a quarter century. Each entry in this series (beginning with 1977's Bullet for a Star) finds Toby taking on a celebrity client; being beaten silly at least once during the ensuing investigation; contending with a supporting cast of misfits ever eager to supply ludicrous asides; and eventually, despite meager expectations of his genius, unearthing clues enough to expose a murderer. Yet even with all those familiar ingredients in place, Now You See It, the 24th Peters tale, doesn't capture the magic of its recent predecessors. Which is ironic, since this yarn is all about magic. Toby, now pushing 50 and freshly partnered with his brother, choleric ex-homicide cop Phil Pevsner, is hired in June 1944 to protect "the world’s greatest living magician," Harry Blackstone. It appears that a wealthy but demented rival, "third-rate parlor magician" Calvin Ott, intends to ruin Blackstone's reputation while simultaneously enhancing his own. However, his process of humiliation seems more than a tad extreme, involving not only slaying a seedy PI during Blackstone's buzz-sawing-the-girl-in-half illusion, but also shooting the deceased's "tiger lady" girlfriend. Prepared to curb Ott's scheme, Toby is surprised when Ott himself is done in--knifed in the back of the neck during a formal reception in Blackstone's honor, with more than five dozen witnesses unable to identify the perpetrator. Quite a trick, especially as it leaves Blackstone with means and motive for committing the crime. In order to save the white-maned prestidigitator, Toby must find a phony waiter and a phonier turbaned gunman, stomach punchlines from comic Phil Silvers, enlist the swashbuckling talents of leading man Cornel Wilde, and--riskiest of all--submit to the oral ministrations of his pal Shelly Minck, "the devil’s dentist." There's a swell twist closing out this book, which proves once again the devious desirability of misdirection. And Kaminsky's decision to begin his chapters with excerpts from the old Blackstone, The Magic Detective radio show enhances both his tale's theme and its period flavor. At the same time, though, the formula of this series is strangely underaffected by Toby and Phil's new business relationship, and a swordplay scene, while entertaining, is gratuitous and unbelievable. Following two celebrated Peters outings, To Catch a Spy and Mildred Pierced, Now You See It conjures up comparatively little novelty. Kaminsky may have to pull a rabbit out of his hat next time to stay on top. --J. Kingston Pi, 9822, United States, 9823, African American, 9857, Asian American, 9882, Classics, 524198, Anthologies, 2160, Drama, 9926, Hispanic, 16004731, Humor, 9955, Native American, 9966, Poetry, 17, Literature & Fiction, 1000, Subjects, 283155, Books, 10461, British Detectives, 10457, Mystery, 18, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, 1000, Subjects, 283155, Books, 10470, Historical, 10457, Mystery, 18, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, 1000, Subjects, 283155, Books, 7538398011, Private Investigators, 10457, Mystery, 18, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, 1000, Subjects, 283155, Books<

ISBN: 9781531815233

Illusion gets more deadly than reality on Toby Peters's twenty-fourth outing from Edgar-winning author Stuart M. Kaminsky. A string of star-studded successes—most recently with Cary… Plus…

Illusion gets more deadly than reality on Toby Peters's twenty-fourth outing from Edgar-winning author Stuart M. Kaminsky. A string of star-studded successes—most recently with Cary Grant in To Catch a Spy and an edgy Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierced—has won Tinseltown detective Toby Peters a bit of local celebrity, and that's something his new client, Harry Blackstone, understands. At the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, Blackstone is billed as the World's Greatest Living Magician. Of course, should the giant buzz saw in the climax to Blackstone's act cut the beautiful young woman in fact in half, his sterling reputation would be ruined. And someone among the Los Angeles Friends of Magic is decidedly intent upon ruining it—whatever the price, including the life of Toby's prime suspect. Unfortunately, with the corpse count mounting, the evidence is pointing increasingly to Toby's client as the man behind the murders. As always, adding to the wackiness of Toby's investigation are the ungentle dentist Sheldon Minck, wrestler-poet Jeremy Butler, the suave, small-statured Swiss multilingualist Gunter Wherthman, and daffy Mrs. Plaut. But to solve the case, Toby finds he needs someone else—the dashing star of the movie A Thousand and One Nights, Cornel Wilde. Audio>Audio>Books On CD Unabridge>CD Fiction,Literature UAB>CD Mystery UAB, Brilliance Audio Core >15<

ISBN: 9781531815233

Illusion gets more deadly than reality on Toby Peters's twenty-fourth outing from Edgar-winning author Stuart M. Kaminsky. A string of star-studded successes - most recently with Cary Gra… Plus…

Illusion gets more deadly than reality on Toby Peters's twenty-fourth outing from Edgar-winning author Stuart M. Kaminsky. A string of star-studded successes - most recently with Cary Grant in To Catch a Spy and an edgy Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierced - has won Tinseltown detective Toby Peters a bit of local celebrity, and that's something his new client, Harry Blackstone, understands.At the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, Blackstone is billed as the World's Greatest Living Magician. Of course, should the giant buzz saw in the climax to Blackstone's act cut the beautiful young woman in fact in half, his sterling reputation would be ruined. And someone among the Los Angeles Friends of Magic is decidedly intent upon ruining it - whatever the price, including the life of Toby's prime suspect.Unfortunately, with the corpse count mounting, the evidence is pointing increasingly to Toby's client as the man behind the murders. As always, adding to the wackiness of Toby's investigation are the ungentle dentist Sheldon Minck, wrestler-poet Jeremy Butler, the suave, small-statured Swiss multilingualist Gunter Wherthman, and daffy Mrs. Plaut. But to solve the case, Toby finds he needs someone else - the dashing star of the movie A Thousand and One Nights, Cornel Wilde. Audio>Audio>Books On CD Unabridge>CD Fiction,Literature UAB>CD Mystery UAB, Brilliance Audio Core >15<

ISBN: 9781531815233

CD-Audio, [PU: Audible Studios on Brilliance], Illusion gets more deadly than reality on Toby Peters's twenty-fourth outing from Edgar-winning author Stuart M. Kaminsky. A string of star-… Plus…

CD-Audio, [PU: Audible Studios on Brilliance], Illusion gets more deadly than reality on Toby Peters's twenty-fourth outing from Edgar-winning author Stuart M. Kaminsky. A string of star-studded successes - most recently with Cary Grant in To Catch a Spy and an edgy Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierced - has won Tinseltown detective Toby Peters a bit of local celebrity, and that's something his new client, Harry Blackstone, understands. At the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, Blackstone is billed as the World's Greatest Living Magician. Of course, should the giant buzz saw in the climax to Blackstone's act cut the beautiful young woman in fact in half, his sterling reputation would be ruined. And someone among the Los Angeles Friends of Magic is decidedly intent upon ruining it - whatever the price, including the life of Toby's prime suspect. Unfortunately, with the corpse count mounting, the evidence is pointing increasingly to Toby's client as the man behind the murders. As always, adding to the wackiness of Toby's investigation are the ungentle dentist Sheldon Minck, wrestler-poet Jeremy Butler, the suave, small-statured Swiss multilingualist Gunter Wherthman, and daffy Mrs. Plaut. But to solve the case, Toby finds he needs someone else - the dashing star of the movie A Thousand and One Nights, Cornel Wilde., Crime, Crime<

2016, ISBN: 9781531815233

Unabridged, Audio-CD, Audio/Hörbuch, [PU: Audible Studios on Brilliance]