The Monet Murders: a Mystery

Publisher Marketing: Private-investigator-to-the-stars Riley Fitzhugh finds himself caught up in the case of a missing Hollywood beauty and a stolen Monet in a 1930s hard-boiled caper as deadly as it is delightful. Hollywood, 1934. Prohibition is finally over, but there is still plenty of crime for an ambitious young private eye to investigate. Though he has a slightly checkered past, Riley Fitzhugh is well connected in the film industry and is hired by a major producer whose lovely girlfriend has disappeared. He is also hired to recover a stolen Monet, a crime that results in two murders with more to come. Along the way Riley investigates the gambling ships anchored off LA, gets involved with the girlfriend of the gangster running one of the ships, disposes of the body of a would-be actor who assaults Riley s girlfriend, and meets an elegant English art history professor from UCLA who helps him authenticate several paintings. Living at the Garden of Allah Hotel, Riley meets and assists many Hollywood screenwriters, who frequent the hotel bar. Incidentally one of these gents, whose nom de plume is Hobey Baker, might actually be F. Scott Fitzgerald. Evoking the classic hard-boiled style, "The Monet Murders" is a charmingly cozy murder mystery by a novelist whose lucid, beautifully written books are a pleasure to read ("Wall Street Journal")." Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 06/29/2015 (EAN 9781605986975, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 07/15/2015 (EAN 9781605986975, Hardcover) Booklist 08/01/2015 pg. 35 (EAN 9781605986975, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Mort, Terry Terry Mort did his undergraduate work in English literature at Princeton University and his graduate work at the University of Michigan. After school he served as an officer in the navy, specializing in navigation and gunnery. His service included a lengthy deployment to Vietnam. He is the author, most recently, of The Hemingway Patrols (Scribner) and The Wrath of Cochise(Pegasus). He has also edited works by Mark Twain, Jack London, and Zane Grey. He lives with his wife, Sondra Hadley, in Sonoita, Arizona and Durango, Colorado.