First published 2011
Detective Toby Peters expects a routine meeting when Lewis Vance calls about a job involving John Wayne. Vance claims he works as the movie star's stand-in. But the hotel room encounter goes wrong fast. Vance drugs Peters, and when the detective regains consciousness with a splitting headache, he finds the real John Wayne standing over him with a .38 revolver. Vance lies dead on the bed, a bullet wound in his forehead. The imposter never looked much like the Duke anyway. Both Peters and Wayne struggle to make sense of what happened. Someone wants the famous actor dead, and Wayne needs answers. He hires Peters to investigate. The case pulls the detective into a complex plot involving Teddy Spaghetti, a suspicious hotel clerk, Russian agents, and Charlie Chaplin himself. Peters must untangle the conspiracy before the killer strikes again. Set in 1940s Hollywood, this mystery combines the glamour and danger of the film industry with the gritty reality of detective work.
Genres: historical-fiction, mystery, thriller, detective, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, investigation
Setting: Hollywood
Period: 1940s
198 pages · ebook · Mysteriouspress.Com/Open Road