Murder at the Movies

August 29, 2005
Two likable cops and charming film nostalgia can't save a far-fetched plot in this third in a series (Murder on the Thirteenth) set in Fort York, Canada, in 1939. Beefy Inspector Albert V. Tretheway and stocky Constable Jake Small love the movies, but Fort York also harbors a fan who ties his pranks and murders to recent films. When a stolen horse appears in a widow's garage, Tretheway sees the parallel with Laurel and Hardy's Flying Deuces. Two residents report seeing a California condor, missing from a local aviary; the link is Only Angels Have Wings. A house is knocked flat, a la in The Wizard of Oz; a murder occurs, familiar in execution to viewers of Gunga Din; a man and dog are killed off in Beau Geste style; a body turns up in a wine barrel, reminiscent of The Tower of London. Using intuition only, Tretheway predicts that the next murder will be based on Gone with the Wind. When caught, the murderer is attempting to simulate the burning of Atlanta by torching a disused railroad. Eddenden probably had fun viewing the marvelous crop of 1939 movies and working out clues, but the result is pointless. Tretheway, his sister Addie, Small and their buddies deserve better.

August 1, 1996
Nostalgia buffs are sure to enjoy this "good old days" mystery set in the late 1930s and starring the sleuthing team of Canadian police Inspector Albert V. Tretheway; his sister, Addie; and his loyal sidekick, Constable Jake Small. Tretheway is a corpulent and much less crabby version of Sherlock Holmes, with the wholesome, slightly naive Jake playing Dr. Watson and sister Addie acting the sensible spinster who provides a safe haven, hearty refreshments, and a distracting game of euchre when the menfolk tire of detecting. Focusing on a series of murders in which the killer reenacts the death scenes from movies of the day, the plot delivers the requisite amount of suspense and action. An entertaining read that's chock-full of menace, momentum, and multiple Movietone moments. ((Reviewed Aug. 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)