Natural Causes

Harry Stoner Mystery #5

by Jonathan Valin

Strong spine with slight crease. Bright clean cover has light crease running the length. Slight edge wear. Text is perfect. Same day shipping first class.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Detective

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Jonathan Valin is an American mystery author best known for the Harry Stoner detective series. He won the Shamus Award for best mystery novel of 1989. After writing eleven Harry Stoner novels over a 14-year period, he took a break from mystery writing to help found Fi, a magazine of music criticism. He now works as an editor and reviewer for magazines.

He is an alumnus of the University of Chicago and lived there for many years.

Reviews

[Bill Kerwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been re-reading all the Harry Stoner detective novels, books that I first read more than thirty years ago. In doing so, I’ve tasted many first-rate prose passages, thrilled to more than a few abrupt explosions of violence, and relished a good mystery here, a surprising unmasking there. But not once have a read a first-class private eye novel, one that ranks up there with the best: Red Harvest, The Big Sleep, The Underground Man, The Last Good Kiss, When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes.

Till now, that is. Natural Causes is that good.

Perhaps the wounds of love and childhood just weren’t enough to goad Jonathan Valin into his best work. Perhaps his superb knowledge of the underbelly of Cincinnati, Ohio wasn’t quite enough either. No, it took a stint in Tinseltown, a year working as a story consultant on one of Hollywood’s daytime soap operas—and an immersion in a culture of dishonesty, deception, and addiction—to bring out just the right tone of weary rage that makes Jonathan Valin’s fifth Harry Stoner novel not merely the best of the series so far, but an exemplar of the genre.

Harry is hired by a mighty Cincinnati soap company called “United American”—a firm that closely resembles Procter and Gamble—to investigate the death of the head writer Quentin Dover, the head writer of their daytime soap. Dover’s body was discovered in his hotel room, in somewhat advanced decay. It may be death by natural causes, but then, there are rumors Quentin may have been leading a double life, and the United American detergent company needs to keep its reputation squeaky clean.

Stoner interviews the people who knew Quentin best: his gorgeous, suicidal wife; his guarded, protective mother; his ambitious calculating junior writing partner; his teary-eyed yet ruthless producer; and Jack Moon, the man from United who keeps the lid on those dirty coastal vices that a midwest mega-corporation cannot tolerate.

Harry Stoner soon tires of all the soap opera games, long before the mystery of Quentin Dover's death is solved. But he grows wearier—much wearier—for, as he investigates all the twists and turns of that lead him closer to answer, he finds that the stench of advanced decay isn't limited to Quentin's corpse, that it permeates the entire L.A. atmosphere with greed and lust, concealment and guilt and concealment. And that includes some of the decisions that Harry Stoner make all by himself.

[Jann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this enough to want to read to the end and find out if Quentin Dover died of natural causes or if he had been murdered. Harry Stoner is a private eye from Cincinnati who is hired to investigate Dover's death in LA.

The problem which kept me from saying that I had very much enjoyed it was that it was published in 1983 and I found that, compared to more recent books of a similar type, the characters were like caricatures.

[Wayne Zurl · Rating 3 out of 5]

NATURAL CAUSES by Jonathan Valin…..

I like private eye Harry Stoner. Maybe it’s because he’s low-key and a realistic guy. Or maybe it’s because I like his hometown of Cincinnati—They have two Jungle Jim’s international food mega-markets.

In this 1983 novel, Harry is hired by the CEO of a conglomerate that owns, among other enterprises, a daytime TV soap opera. Their head writer died under suspicious circumstances in Hollywood. The coroner and police tend to think it was an accident. But it's Hollywood as usual and other people aren’t so sure. So,the CEO wants Harry to learn the truth and ward off any possible scandals that might damage the company’s reputation.

Harry’s job is at best ambiguous and the potential outcome is not something that mankind or the criminal justice system would ever care much about. In this case, being a private cop attempting to second guess LAPD is not an easy assignment. There are no glaring reasons to think the police aren’t correct in their assessment of death by accident or natural causes or a combination of the two. But the writer’s personality and lifestyle make the CEO uncertain.

One of the best parts of this book is Jonathan Valin’s dialogue between Harry and the various Hollywood studio and production types who come off like visitors from another planet. He conveys, in no uncertain terms, that they are truly a different species than a young PI from Ohio meets every day. Valin’s interpretation of these people as manic, greedy, shady and duplicitous was fun to read.

One of the most unsavory characters in this (and in many of the books you’ll read) is the LA cop who only took a police job because his attempts to break into show biz fizzled out. He agrees to assist Harry by providing inside information, but for a hefty price that the CEO agrees to pay. What a true creep.

The plot is very complicated and by mid-story becomes convoluted and just a little confusing—Who’s on first? What’s going on? Drug deals? Backstabbing co-workers? A real estate scam?

But everything gets explained and evolves to what I thought was not a totally satisfying ending. The outcome was sort of a shame, but not something a cop or PI should lose sleep over. However, that’s what investigations are all about.

[Debra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cincinnati PI, Harry Stoner, has been hired by a company called United American to find out how head soap opera writer, Quentin Dover, really died. His body was found in a LA hotel room, badly cut from having apparently fallen through the glass while showering. Since Dover had had heart problems, an accidental death is probable. Head of production, Frank Glendora, however, wants to stop nasty rumors that could hurt the TV show United American spends a lot of money sponsoring.

As Harry delves into the world of soap opera production, he learns far more than he wants to about paranoid, greedy, backstabbing people whose self-esteem and careers depend on shallow plotlines, great piles of money and, not surprisingly, drugs.

Unfortunately, the plot is almost as shallow as the people Harry investigates. We do learn what motivates some of the characters to do the things they do, but the more I read the less I liked almost everyone in the story. Shallow lives and shallow people who are neither smart or complicated just isn't interesting. The story unfolds with Stoner interviewing one person after another, and the red herrings aren't strong enough to supply good twists. The killer's identity left me thinking "so what?" Even Harry isn't really fleshed out, although I did like him. All I really remember about him is that he lives in Cincinnati, used to be a cop, likes women, and knows how to handle a gun. But shouldn't there be more?

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harry is hired by a large Cincy based corporation that produces soap operas to look into the death of one their head writers.

[Lori Baldi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read and enjoyed (somewhat) mainly because Valin's work takes place in my hometown of Cincinnati, OH.

[Rushbug23 · Rating 3 out of 5]

idk about this book it seems a Lil long and drawn out didn't finish it ...could've also just been me too just being tired of listening to the series at the moment

[Cindy B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hollywood, murders, and behind the scenes - good start on a readable book and author comes thru. Some sex (authors usual) otherwise interesting. Well performed by Mark Peckham - Also his usual.