The Vertigo Murders

by J. Madison Davis

Did Alfred Hitchcock, the world-famous Master of Suspense, have a secret life as a detective? Did his mordant humor hide a deductive mind worthy of a Hercule Poirot or Nero Wolfe? The year is 1957. The sun-tanned citizenry of Los Angeles is in the grip of a bizarre series of murders. Alfred Hitchcock is immersed in the production of his latest film, Vertigo, when he receives a macabre present, the severed ear of a woman. Fearing the ear has to do with the grisly death of a young starlet, Hitchcock decides to investigate. Joining forces with retired L.A.P.D. detective Chess Slattery, Hitch follows a trail that takes the pair from the mansions of Bel Air to the degraded haunts of Hollywood wannabes to the shabby bungalows of Venice. What they discover puts them in the path of a twisted killer hell-bent on ruining the famous Hitchcock profile. Movie stars, gangsters and cops, the famous and the not-so-famous, all get swept up in a relentless series of events that threatens to spiral out of control and into disaster -- until Hitch masterminds a thrilling finale worthy of Vertigo itself!

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

So in the third and fourth grade I was reading adult books so Stephen King stuff like that. I also remember reading different Alfred Hitchcock books as well. So I was excited when I found this book at the library book sale. But I got to say I really was not into this book it was boring for me and I feel like after a certain point it was super obvious who the killer was and I thought to myself oh my God why isn't this over yet. Don't get me wrong it was interesting but I was bored of the whole thing.

[Newly Wardell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh mystery writers UNITE!! This is a good'un. I found myself wanting to seriously high five this author. This one has all the classic yet necessary elements but it also just steps it up a notch. SO I dont know how or why this story is so mysterious and I didnt expect to find a book set in the production of a Hollywood classic to be able to be interesting. But boy howdy, did it knock me for a loop. So here's the skinny lets just call it for fiction sake. For fiction sake during the production of Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock hires a TRUE hard-boiled gumshoe to investigate a public and grisly murder. The gum-shoe is veteran and grown up boy scout, Chess Slattery. Slattery fell from grace after an actor fell into his fists. (repeatedly) In Tinseltown this act reduces him to a security guard. One morning after his shift securing a garage, he is offered a job by the Master of Suspense one Mr. Alfred Hitchcock. It seems someone sent the ol' M of S an ear. Yep. That's right in the book Alfred Hitchcock receives a severed ear in the mail and decides to get a real mystery solved while filming a fake mystery. It's the most absurdly ambitious plots I've ever read. There are red herrings galore, plot twists that are like literary Lombard Street, and a brilliant unmasking. It's hard to put down and I didnt guess who the bad guy was and there are so many bad guys. These are proper bad guys too none of that bad but well intentioned nonsense! None of that heart of gold gobbledygook, these apples are rotten to the core. The facts are well laid out and it's super obvious who the murderer is but I didnt figure it out. (lol) It is has some bigger than ever scenes (Jimmy Stewart, are you kidding me?) and some weird emotional depths about the realities of following your dreams by any means necessary.

Then it goes all meta because its kinda a mystery who wrote this book. I understand that a book can have two authors but how can the same book be written by two different people?

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book in which Alfred Hitchcock hires an ex LAPD officer to investigate the murder and dismemberment of a wanna be actress. If you are a Nero Wolf fan you will recognize the "division of labor" in this story - the ex cop investigates and "Hitch" puts the pieces together just like Nero Wolf and Archie did in that series. I recommend this book if you enjoy a good mystery and like seeing the names of people from history (in this case film history - Jimmy Stewart makes an appearance) cropping up from time to time.

[Kohl · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Chris was sick I had a lot of reading time and though I did not intend to read this book, I picked it out for Chris to read from the library then innocently started thumbing through it, then on the 150th page decided to read all of it. This book was interesting because it takes Alfred Hitchcock (a historical figure) and puts a "What If" spin on it and makes him a fictional character in a way that could have very well been what happened. The author took what is widely known about Hitch's meticulous and detailed oriented personality, and took one step further giving him Holmes like powers of observation and deduction. But Hitchcock is a high profile director, and does not have time for investigation, so he hires a down and out ex-cop to be his Personal Investigator, from who's POV the story is told. The idea is cool and intriguing, the murders were brutal, yet mild in the description, the story moved at a pace that held me, but the over all story was a bit cliched, and the Glamour of Hollywood was revealed as a polished shell covering a cesspool of violation and godlessness. After this last weekends trip to Jake and Al's new home and a short jaunt into Hollywood I realized that the author was not fictionalizing the setting at all. It is a sad superficial dump. A big fat illusion that leaves you a little offended. Another thing I did not like is he "Named Dropped" too much, throwing in too many Celebrities in unbelievable roles (at one point Jimmy Stewart interrupts a beating of our PI hero with cavalry like timing). Anyway I give this book two and a half stars cause the amount of research into Hitch's life as well Hollywood of the 50s is quite impressive and I have always enjoyed fictional stories that are written in and around history, but it did not quite make up for the forgettable story as well as the other flaws. The mystery was not that hard to figure either. Though I originally had no intention of reading this book, it was no big loss since I read it in 24 hours.

-Kohl 10/01/01

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I read any hardboiled fiction and this was the perfect vehicle to get me back into the genre - whip-smart, sharp one-liners, brutal violence and some occasional gruesome touches. Cleverly mixing fiction (the hero Slattery, the slain starlet and the surrounding cast of grotesques) and fact (Hitchcock and family, the making of “Vertigo”, nods to “Psycho” and a brave, stout-hearted Jimmy Stewart), this never felt overdone but worked nicely - perhaps more so if you’ve read any Hitchcock biographies. Perhaps, in the end, the reasoning behind the murders isn’t as strong as it could be, but this is an intelligent, well-written, gripping novel that doesn’t shy away from the nasty underbelly of fame but gives the reader a decent, strong lead to root for. Very nicely done.

[Jess Faraday · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced mystery with a snappy, period style. A quick, enjoyable read, and a well-constructed mystery. The product description is a little misleading--Alfred Hitchcock is *not* the detective, he *hires* the detective. However, this doesn't take anything away from the story. All in all, very enjoyable.

[R. David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not so well written or edited pseudo mystery yarn.