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    Frames: A Valentino Mystery
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    Frames: A Valentino Mystery
    Unavailable
    Frames: A Valentino Mystery
    Ebook273 pages2 hours

    Frames: A Valentino Mystery

    By Loren D. Estleman

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Enter Valentino, a mild-mannered UCLA film archivist. In the surreal world of Hollywood filmdom, truth is often stranger than celluloid fiction. When Valentino buys a decrepit movie palace and uncovers a skeleton in the secret Prohibition basement, he's not really surprised. But he's staggered by a second discovery: long-lost, priceless reels of film: Erich von Stroheim's infamous Greed.

    The LAPD wants to take the reels as evidence, jeopardizing the precious old film. If Valentino wants to save his find, he has only one choice: solve the murder within 72 hours with the help of his mentor, the noted film scholar Broadhead, and Fanta, a feisty if slightly flaky young law student.

    Between a budding romance with a beautiful forensics investigator and visions of Von Stroheim's ghost, Valentino's madcap race to save the flick is as fast and frenetic as a classic screwball comedy. A quirky cast of characters, smart dialogue and a touch of romance make Frames Estleman's most engaging and accessible novel to date.

    At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateAug 31, 2010
    ISBN9781429930956
    Unavailable
    Frames: A Valentino Mystery
    Author

    Loren D. Estleman

    Loren D. Estleman is the author of more than eighty novels, including the Amos Walker, Page Murdock, and Peter Macklin series. The winner of four Shamus Awards, five Spur Awards, and three Western Heritage Awards, he lives in Central Michigan with his wife, author Deborah Morgan.

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    Reviews for Frames

    3.5/5

    34 ratings7 reviews

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    • 2/5
      cozy - too many lull spots
    • 4/5
      I read this book next after finishing Comeback, the return of Richard Stark’s Parker, and in a way it seems appropriate. Westlake had balanced the hardcore Richard Stark books with the comic romps of a smalltime thief named Dortmunder, written under his own name. Estleman, whose best known for hardboiled P.I. Amos Walker, has branched out into Dortmunder territory with Frames. It’s not the first time. In 1991 Estleman wrote Peeper, a send-up of every cliché in the P.I. handbook. It took until 2008 for Valentino to show up, at least in novel form; he has been featured in many short stories. A film archivist, his love of movie history overwhelms practicality (both financial and realistic) the moment steps inside a neglected old movie theatre. He buys it, and promptly discovers the print of a long lost silent movie alongside the skeletal remains of a murder victim. Valentino finds himself forced to solve the murder before the LAPD confiscates the film as evidence, which he can’t allow because the print is in such a fragile state that improper handling would destroy it. A lighthearted and often humorous misadventure.
    • 4/5
      This is a cute, fluff type mystery. Here we have Valentino - who buys an old, abandoned theatre. On inspection, he find a missing movie - all 10ish hours of it. And a body, that has been there as long as the movie reels.. Which brings the police. When the very fragile movie is wanted as evidence - its up to Valentino to solve the crime before the police confiscate his priceless find...The book is fluff. Even the murder happened 50ish years ago - so none of the horror or unpleasantness of a more recent crime. The characters are cute, if a little cardboard. I do like the setting of Hollywood - it makes for a nice backdrop. The film as evidence seems to be a bit... farfetched. I can't see a police department potentially ruining what might be a lead simple due to procedure, plus... the evidence is already compromised when it was taken out of the room it was found in. So, to sum up - Cute. Not too serious. Fun read, especially for a beach, but not much else.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book in a series about film detective Valentino. He works for the UCLA film preservation department searching for long lost films. While viewing an old run down cinema his real estate agent wants him to consider buying, he finds twenty-four cans marked "Greed." Since "Greed" is Erich von Stronheim's lost masterpiece, he buys the cinema. When his colleague and friend Broadhead and a student, Fanta, join him looking in the basement of the theater they find the other twenty-four cans of film and a skeleton. Valentino's movie palace becomes a crime scene and he hides the film from the police so he has time to preserve it before they confiscate it as evidence. When Sergeant Clifford figures out what Valentino has done, she tells him he only has until Friday before she secures the film. It will take much longer to conserve it properly, so he decides to try and solve the mystery himself to keep the police from ruining the fragile film.I read the second book in this series as part of the Early Reviewer program and liked it so much I decided to read the first one. These books are more about film trivia than the mystery. Every page is peppered with cinema history. The mystery is not complicated and is easily solved. The story is humorous and moves quickly. I have enjoyed reading this novel and hope Estleman writes more Valentino books.
    • 3/5
      Valentino (we never learn whether it's a first or last name) is a film archivist at UCLA. Needing a new place to live, he finds the decrepit movie theater The Oracle and makes an impulsive offer to buy it. In the basement of the theater he finds an old skeleton and long-lost reels of the classic film Greed by Erich von Stroheim. The LAPD wants to take the film as possible evidence; Val (as he has his friends call him) feels certain that they would accidentally destroy the fragile film. He wangles a few days, during whch he will have to solve the mystery to keep the police from seizing the film.Estleman clearly has a fondness for old movies, particularly screwball comedies, and his novel takes on the feel of one. In his quest for the skeleton's identity, Val has the help of Professor Broadhead, a film scholar, and the hilariously named law student Fanta. The plot, such as it is, moves along quickly, and the breezy style fits the story and supports its tone. There isn't really much of a mystery, or any serious character development; we have a fun romp, in which Fanta, the detective sergeant, and the forensic officer, Harriet, are all delectable, hunches tend to pay off, and matters reach a satisfactory ending before the film is ruined. von Stroheim's ghost, who has been bugging Val, is appeased.I read this because I received the sequel, Alone, as an Early Reviewer book. It's an enjoyable, quick read that doesn't challenge the reader much. Recommended for those who like a light, breezy tone rather than danger and serious character development, and especially those with a fondness for old movies.
    • 4/5
      First in a contemporary mystery series with film archivist Valentino, no relation to the silent star actor or the designer. He is looking for a house, and for grins and giggles looks at one of the movie palaces built in the twenties that is for sale. He finds canisters of film marked "Greed", Erich von Stroheim's lost silent masterpiece. So he makes an offer on the theater and then finds a skeleton in the basement, which makes it a crime scene and endangers the film. So Valentino must solve the mystery to save the film.Estleman is an experienced writer with over 60 published novels. I have not read him before, but will in the future. Frames is a pleasant well-constructed novel. The main characters are nicely drawn, and the plot works, and he brings in fun movie history - even has a bibliography of non-fiction and fictional works at the end of the book. The next in the series, Alone, will be published in early December 2009.
    • 1/5
      Estleman is a prolific author in the mystery genre. I had never read one of his books, so I decided to try this one based on several favorable reviews I had read. And the book jacket promised great reading, with glowing recommendations from such authors as Sue Grafton, John Lescroart, and others. I'm sorry to report that Estleman just doesn't do it for me. The story features film archivist Valentino (one name only) buying a rundown movie house and finding a lost film masterpiece, plus a skeleton in the basement. Unfortunately, the mystery is very slight and there is really only enough decent story material to make a good short story. The rest is very badly-written padding. The dialogue at times is almost laughable. No one talks the way Estleman has his characters speaking. The bulk of the dialogue and the book is simply exposition for Estleman to show off his research in old film trivia. All in all, a very great disappointment. If you are a hardcore Estleman fan, then you might possibly enjoy. If you've never read Estleman, then skip this one and spend your time more productively.