Movie

Stanley Hastings #10

by Parnell Hall

When Manhattan private eye and part-time actor Stanley Hastings gets an offer to have his screenplay produced, he thinks he's finally hit it big. But when corpses keep turning up, he sees he will have to re-write the ending, to catch the killer.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

You had to know if Stanley wrote a movie, someone would turn up murdered on the set, didn't you? I greatly enjoyed this book, not the least because it reminded me of Parnell Hall's discussion of his own experience with writing a film, which was very similar to what Stanley dealt with only without the dead bodies. It was nice to see Sergeant Clark again; he might not be Stanley's favorite police officer but I like him, and I like reading about his interactions with both Stanley and Sergeant MacAulluiff.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mystery gets a little credit for the unusual approach of featuring a detective who not only isn't particularly heroic or smart, but doesn't really do much in the way of detecting. In fact, I was never quite sure whether or not he was working the case. I enjoyed the light humor and thought the long passages of unattributed dialogue were very well done. (Many better-known writers don't do it this well.) And I also enjoyed the way that everything played out on the set(s) of a movie in progress. All in all, though, the whole thing felt a little flat. None of the characters really ever develop into anything deeper than a talking head, anything that goes beyond their given lines, and the mystery itself isn't particularly compelling. I doubt I'll be reading any more Stanley Hastings mysteries, but this one provided a not-unenjoyable diversion for several hours

[Peter · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very pedestrian PI novel with all the clichés associated with this genre. Stanley Hastings is an investigator for a lawyer about to hit the big-time when hired to write a screenplay but various murders on set intervene and it meanders to a mundane conclusion largely through a continuing dialogue between Hastings and a stereotypical dogmatic cop who thoroughly dislikes him. I really don’t know why I persevered with this.

[Araych · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stanley Hastings #10, in which Stan's screenplay is used as a script for a movie being shot in New York. Some accidents are not actually accidents and the body count goes up. I thought this is one of the best of the series, very entertaining light mystery. I really liked it, 4 stars.

[Brian O'Leary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stanley Hastings is quite an entertaining series, I recommend it to anyone that like a quick enjoyable brain candy type of read.

[Sarah Glenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detective Stanley Hastings finally has his chance to hit The Big Time as a screenwriter. Sidney Garfellow, a documentary director people have actually heard of, has hired him to write the screenplay for his first 'regular' movie. Stanley dreams of leaving his less-than-rewarding career as an investigator for a personal injury lawyer for the Silver Screen. What stands in the way of this? Well, Sidney Garfellow, who keeps changing his mind about what he wants, forcing Stanley to rewrite and rewrite again. Then there's the film's star, who ignores Stanley's golden prose in favor of more 'natural' lines he's written himself. Oh, and there's people getting killed on the set. Just a little problem there...

Hall draws heavily on his own experiences when writing Stanley Hastings: he has worked on the stage, in films, and, at one time, as a detective himself. He writes hilarious songs, often about the foibles of being an author. It is no surprise that he has some experience with screenwriting himself: he wrote the screenplay for C.H.U.D. At least Stanley gets to write a movie with "four hot babes" in it.

I've read several of the Hastings novels, and I always enjoy the verbal humor in them. This novel is no exception. Stanley gives us his unvarnished and aggrieved opinions of the director, the actor, and Murty the sound man. He exchanges marvelous barbs with his boss, who visits the set, and Sergeant McAuliff, a series regular who is hired as a consultant. After the deaths begin, Detective Clark is brought in to investigate. Stanley doesn't like Clark: in a previous novel, Stanley was his prime suspect. The cops are smart, especially Clark, who is far from the closed-minded nabob mystery authors so often employ. The plot is good, and there's enough twists to keep the reader guessing.

The drawback: in some scenes, Stanley and the police detectives spend a lot of time talking about who was where at what times. I tend to speedbump over those sections, but you might want to take the time to read it: the solution just might be hiding in there.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this book for years -- since I worked at Murder Ink, in fact. I'm pretty sure it was an advance copy that no one jumped up for, and that I took home after it had sat, unread, for weeks or more. Given that Hall is (or at least was) a fairly prolific mystery writer, I found that a bit puzzling. After reading Movie, I find it both more and less surprising.

I find it more surprising because this was a fun, relatively easy read. The book -- part of the Stanley Hastings series -- is set in NYC; the protagonist is a private investigator who works primarily with a middle-of-the-road law firm. Hastings is completely human: he has a wife and kid, both of whom are very important to him, but he still has a keen eye for what I'll call human scenery. That's very prominent in this book, as he's told to write a new script (not the one that the director had called about) starring a male action hero and 4 hot women. Does that make the character sexist? I'm not sure, as his interactions with women in the book are actually quite egalitarian. Personally, I consider the reader's view into this part of Hastings' psyche fairly honest for a 30-something man in NYC in the '90s. I could see, though, how this could turn off some readers.

Also, while Hall has a strong voice and is a good writer, I wouldn't say that he's a great writer -- and Murder Ink carried (and got ARCs from) quite a few great writers. I did like his pacing, though, and the degree to which he revealed facts that could have led to the murder. After reading Movie, though, he's definitely someone I'd reach for when I'm looking for pure entertainment.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

stanly wrote a movie and they were producing it low budget. they found a body of a bum in the elevator in the warehouse. they investigated but sgt mcguff didnt figure it out. the producer liked mcguff and hired him to be a cop in the movie and for helping at the set

the boom man almost got electrocuted, he said someone crossed the wires but no one belived him

then on a shoot at a construction site someone sawed the wood in half and the boom man fell to his death

the cop in charge thinks both deaths are connected, stanly doesnt

then a sandbag almost falls on the star and almost kills him

stanly brought home movies the producer had made and watched them with his wife. she is the one who recognized the girl from the catering as the sister of the prostitute who died after making one of the documentaries. she blamed the producer for her sisters death. she was in cahoots with dan to rig the set

stanly got to be in his own little movie to show what happened and expose the killers

it wasnt my favorite from this author but still enjoyed it very much. will start the next book today!

[Chazzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stanley Hastings, private detective, is living a dream. He is finally going to see his screenplay made into a movie. His name will be on the screen when the credits roll. He has made it! Or has he?

Starting with finding a dead body in the building the crew will use to shoot in, is just one of the downward steps this dream takes. Accidents, or are they accidents, more deaths and a steady stream of script rewrites he is constantly given are just more roadblocks to getting the movie in the can. It's enough trying to shoot around Manhattan without all these other distractions.

I've enjoyed Hall's Puzzle Lady mysteries and this doesn't let me down. I will keep an eye out for more of Stanley Hastings' doings

[Ron Judenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

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