What do you think?
Rate this book
Polly Pepper #1
Remains To Be Scene
Polly Pepper is a living legend, straight from television's golden age. But that was 30 years ago, and these days, it seems her only time in the spotlight is accepting some yes-your-career-is-over Lifetime Achievement Award. Really would it kill someone to offer her a decent role?
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2007
2 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 19, 2025
One of my enduring pet peeves with the subgenre of the 'cute' murder mystery is how callously its usually-adorable and winsome leads behave while solving a comical and quaint little murder or two—when in reality, the stench of crime is pretty dreadful, and can never be obscured by buckets of syrupy banter and sugary character quirks. Remains To Be Scene neatly manages to bypass that typical shortcoming, however, by making its lead detectives as thoroughly unpleasant as its murder victims, thus neatly removing any obligation the reader has either to root for the former, or feel sorry for the latter.
The gimmick here is that Polly Pepper is a former has-been television star—something along the lines of Carol Burnett, but with less talent—whose career has come to a near-standstill. For some reason the novel never really makes clear, when two rivals are killed on the set of a movie and Polly Pepper is asked to step into their roles, she appoints herself the lead investigator of the case and uses all of her powers of deduction to track down the ruthless killer. And damned if the entire LAPD doesn't just roll over and let Polly Pepper do it, too.
Unfortunately for Polly Pepper (the author's unspoken rule in the novel that one is only allowed to refer to his heroine by both names, as when her romantic interest gushes in the book's most romantic and lyrical line, "You look awesome, Polly Pepper!"), her powers mostly consist of slugging back cocktails and slinging abrasive and unsubtle questions in every direction.
Joining Polly Pepper as her nutty sidekicks are her son Tim, a wastrel slugabout whose function in the book is to be as stereotypically gay as possible on a wearying basis and to make icky-poo faces at any mention of his mother's lady-parts, and her maid, Placenta. No, that's the entire joke, there. Polly Pepper's maid's name is Placenta. Please, do attempt to keep your sides from splitting. Her job is primarily to keep Polly Pepper pickled with a peck of planter's punches.
I kept kind of hoping that the book might self-knowingly mock itself by following the Rosemary and Thyme model of amateur detection, in which the protagonists are so stupid and blundering and seemingly unable to detect their way out of a paper bag, that the murderer finally reveals himself out of exhaustion and tries to kill one, the other, or both. No such luck in this novel. Polly Pepper pulls a has-been television actress's version of the detective-in-the-parlor reveal that lasts for fully one-fifth of the entire book's total length. It's excruciating. I've never rooted for a third literary murder (Polly Pepper's) so hard in my life. And yet I have to confess that I'm quite curious if the sequels—oh yes, there's an entire Polly Pepper series—are as bad.
Dead curious, one might say.
The gimmick here is that Polly Pepper is a former has-been television star—something along the lines of Carol Burnett, but with less talent—whose career has come to a near-standstill. For some reason the novel never really makes clear, when two rivals are killed on the set of a movie and Polly Pepper is asked to step into their roles, she appoints herself the lead investigator of the case and uses all of her powers of deduction to track down the ruthless killer. And damned if the entire LAPD doesn't just roll over and let Polly Pepper do it, too.
Unfortunately for Polly Pepper (the author's unspoken rule in the novel that one is only allowed to refer to his heroine by both names, as when her romantic interest gushes in the book's most romantic and lyrical line, "You look awesome, Polly Pepper!"), her powers mostly consist of slugging back cocktails and slinging abrasive and unsubtle questions in every direction.
Joining Polly Pepper as her nutty sidekicks are her son Tim, a wastrel slugabout whose function in the book is to be as stereotypically gay as possible on a wearying basis and to make icky-poo faces at any mention of his mother's lady-parts, and her maid, Placenta. No, that's the entire joke, there. Polly Pepper's maid's name is Placenta. Please, do attempt to keep your sides from splitting. Her job is primarily to keep Polly Pepper pickled with a peck of planter's punches.
I kept kind of hoping that the book might self-knowingly mock itself by following the Rosemary and Thyme model of amateur detection, in which the protagonists are so stupid and blundering and seemingly unable to detect their way out of a paper bag, that the murderer finally reveals himself out of exhaustion and tries to kill one, the other, or both. No such luck in this novel. Polly Pepper pulls a has-been television actress's version of the detective-in-the-parlor reveal that lasts for fully one-fifth of the entire book's total length. It's excruciating. I've never rooted for a third literary murder (Polly Pepper's) so hard in my life. And yet I have to confess that I'm quite curious if the sequels—oh yes, there's an entire Polly Pepper series—are as bad.
Dead curious, one might say.
November 18, 2021
Wasn't sure what to expect with this book. There is no doubt that the author has a knowledge of the film, tv industry & all that Hollywood holds. The writing was a bit rough at the outset but soon there was a flow. Much name dropping of well known actors & a sense of the ruthlessness of the business. The mystery itself presented several possible murderers & I confess I waffled a bit as my first instinct seemed too likely to be the case. Might have made an interesting pick your murderer book with several variant story lines & endings.
May 20, 2021
What if Carol Burnett had starred in MURDER SHE WROTE? Jordan answers that question with a wink and a giggle in his debut mystery starring Polly Pepper, an aging, Emmy-winning TV actress. Think ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS'S Edina Monsoon meets THE THIN MAN.
Polly, unfortunately, hasn't worked in years, so she's thrilled when she comes up for a part in DETENTION RULES, a teen romp. To Polly's dismay, Sedra Stone, her longtime rival, steals the role. When Sedra belly flops to her death in an empty pool after her first day of filming, Polly gets another chance—until anarchy shuts down production.
Polly, aided by her gay party-planner son, Tim, and her wisecracking housekeeper, Placenta, starts her own gleeful, unofficial investigation, which includes much Tinseltown gossip, canoodling with suspects, champagne drinking and general mayhem. This crazed clue fest reveals that Polly atually rivals Agatha Christie! And the dish on real-life Hollywood, past and present, enriches this promising start to a wonderful new series of comedic murder mysteries.
Other books in the Polly Pepper series include: SET SAIL FOR MURDER, A TALENT FOR MURDER, FINAL CURTAIN and the sole non-mystery novella NAUGHTY OR NICE (a rollicking romcom set during the holidays where Polly tries to set up her son with Mr. Right).
Polly, unfortunately, hasn't worked in years, so she's thrilled when she comes up for a part in DETENTION RULES, a teen romp. To Polly's dismay, Sedra Stone, her longtime rival, steals the role. When Sedra belly flops to her death in an empty pool after her first day of filming, Polly gets another chance—until anarchy shuts down production.
Polly, aided by her gay party-planner son, Tim, and her wisecracking housekeeper, Placenta, starts her own gleeful, unofficial investigation, which includes much Tinseltown gossip, canoodling with suspects, champagne drinking and general mayhem. This crazed clue fest reveals that Polly atually rivals Agatha Christie! And the dish on real-life Hollywood, past and present, enriches this promising start to a wonderful new series of comedic murder mysteries.
Other books in the Polly Pepper series include: SET SAIL FOR MURDER, A TALENT FOR MURDER, FINAL CURTAIN and the sole non-mystery novella NAUGHTY OR NICE (a rollicking romcom set during the holidays where Polly tries to set up her son with Mr. Right).
June 28, 2017
I found this one randomly while we were cleaning my grandma's attic. Figured I hadn't read a good mystery in a while so, I decided to bring it home...I still haven't read a good mystery in a while. I think my grandma had this one in her attic for a reason! The story was not engaging and the characters were irritating, immature and shallow.
June 14, 2018
This book was okay, not bad but not great. I suspected Elizabeth from the moment she started walking around Polly's sitting room and looking through her things. If she was pretending to be blind then she was clearly unscrupulous. While I was surprised about the manner of the murder, I was not surprised why she did it; she always cared more about Missie's career than Missie did. The whole time I was picturing Camila Cabello as Missie. If I stumble upon another book in this series I will pick it up, but I will not run out and search for more of them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 21, 2017
Not terribly impressed with this book.
It is the first I have read by R.T. Jordan. The mystery was far too much about Hollywood celebrities and not nearly enough about the mystery.
Way too much name dropping.
The culprit was pretty obvious from the start.
It is the first I have read by R.T. Jordan. The mystery was far too much about Hollywood celebrities and not nearly enough about the mystery.
Way too much name dropping.
The culprit was pretty obvious from the start.
April 14, 2025
The premise could have been interesting but I didn't find any of the main characters particularly likeable. Good lord those people can drink and Polly is incredibly self-centered. I think she was supposed to be a take-off of Carol Burnett, but not very well done.
July 23, 2020
Laughed out loud!
June 5, 2011
I'm just not one to be impressed with Hollywood people or goings-on. So the book had a strike against it from the very beginning. I also can't stand people who think they are important and do everything they can to impress others, especially name dropping. Strike two. The the star and everyone around her were lushes, and felt that homsexuality is normal. Strike three. The only good part was discovering who was the murderer.
March 4, 2014
Aging Hollywood star Polly Pepper finds the road to a comeback is dangerous when she steps into a role that lead to two murders on a movie set. Filled with Hollywood gossip and over the top characters, it's a fun debut that suffers from some rough writing.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.
June 18, 2008
I didn't like the characters in this one. I thought the heroine (washed-up Hollywood actress who lives with her son and maid named Placenta) was completely unsympathetic. She's rude and pathetic, her son doesn't do anything, and I don't understand her relationship with her maid - sometimes they seem all buddy-buddy, sometimes not. I gave up on this one less than halfway through.
March 1, 2009
Polly Pepper is a former television star who spends most of her days drinking and solving TV mysteries. (she is really a likable character) Now, she finds herself solving a real murder, and she does it with charm and style!
May 28, 2015
she's plucky and arrogant, yet delightfully entertaining, while you suppress the groan that makes her kind of charming...all in all it was a good read with an entertaining family unit in the story, and as non-traditional as one would expect of Hollywood.
Read
March 5, 2012HATED this book. I usually will keep going with a series even if I am only lukewarm into the first book in the series. Not the case here. If I could give it a minus 1 star, I would.
February 18, 2015
Took me forever to finish(because of other priorities) but when I went back reading, I couldn't put it down :)
April 3, 2016
df
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews