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Whistler #4
The Wizard of La-La Land
In a new La-La Land mystery, a male prostitute's death leaves some mysterious clues to another murder--satanic books, a mummified finger, a phone with numbers on automatic dial--leading Whistler on a grim search into a seething netherworld.
278 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
12 people want to read
About the author
Robert Wright Campbell
34 books15 followersA screenwriter who turned to writing novels. Many of his earlier books were published as by R. Wright Campbell but later works were credited to Robert W. Campbell or simply Robert Campbell. He also published one book as F.G. Clinton. For more, see his obituary in the Los Angeles Times.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 17, 2019
A Hollywood street hustler claims to know who was responsible for a cold case child murder, but is himself murdered before he can tell what he knows. Drawn into the investigation is an LAPD detective who was the uncle of the murdered girl and a private investigator who works out of a coffee shop and is known by the single name Whistler. Both the detective and the P. I. investigate the case independently and the story comes to a climax in a mansion hosting voyeur sex fantasies.
Whistler is non-judgmental and sympathetic to the underclass characters he associates with and Campbell focuses as much on the exploiters of these people as he does on those who have, for various reasons, chosen a lifestyle in which they choose to be exploited.
This is the fourth and last of Campbell's Whistler series, retaining the sympathy for humanity of the first three, but lacking the humor, which is no surprise given the subject matter here. Campbell always writes fine dialogue and his empathy for the characters is admirable, but in this one, I believe he painted himself into a corner story-wise. The mastermind killer comes off as more lucky than smart and the two detectives are more dumb than we have any reason to believe they should be. The two investigators, who although they know each other very well, never share information regarding the case. This is explained by the context of the story, but given the gravity of the original crime and the escalation of violence on the killer's part, their failure to collaborate seems unlikely. More glaring is the fact that the most likely suspect remains totally ignored by both detectives until the very end. Instead, both detectives are two steps behind the killer all the way as he eliminates all those who know his secrets. The climax seems contrived and I suspect the author may have given into the impulse of creating a Grand Guignol concept ending – which never would have taken place if the characters acted according to the skills (or weaknesses) the author led us to believe they possessed.
Whistler is non-judgmental and sympathetic to the underclass characters he associates with and Campbell focuses as much on the exploiters of these people as he does on those who have, for various reasons, chosen a lifestyle in which they choose to be exploited.
This is the fourth and last of Campbell's Whistler series, retaining the sympathy for humanity of the first three, but lacking the humor, which is no surprise given the subject matter here. Campbell always writes fine dialogue and his empathy for the characters is admirable, but in this one, I believe he painted himself into a corner story-wise. The mastermind killer comes off as more lucky than smart and the two detectives are more dumb than we have any reason to believe they should be. The two investigators, who although they know each other very well, never share information regarding the case. This is explained by the context of the story, but given the gravity of the original crime and the escalation of violence on the killer's part, their failure to collaborate seems unlikely. More glaring is the fact that the most likely suspect remains totally ignored by both detectives until the very end. Instead, both detectives are two steps behind the killer all the way as he eliminates all those who know his secrets. The climax seems contrived and I suspect the author may have given into the impulse of creating a Grand Guignol concept ending – which never would have taken place if the characters acted according to the skills (or weaknesses) the author led us to believe they possessed.
October 24, 2017
The best of the series so far.
February 29, 2024
Another pot boiler mystery that just didn't grab me.
I could appreciate this setup, it's about a bunch of burnout ex-cops and ex-private eyes get drawn to a case and then-current Hollyweird. However, it just doesn't really land. There's far too many characters with their own private sob stories who keep reoccurring. Ultimately just gets tangled up and its own mess and falls apart where the dialogue is also very overwrought and over long.
Not terrible, but the definition of an airport novel
I could appreciate this setup, it's about a bunch of burnout ex-cops and ex-private eyes get drawn to a case and then-current Hollyweird. However, it just doesn't really land. There's far too many characters with their own private sob stories who keep reoccurring. Ultimately just gets tangled up and its own mess and falls apart where the dialogue is also very overwrought and over long.
Not terrible, but the definition of an airport novel
April 2, 2014
I'm not a fan of mysteries, but I couldn't put this one down. Pure entertainment and a masterful, conversational writing style. It really transports you, which makes it great. It's campy but doesn't insult you by trying to be too cuter. If you think you don't like mysteries, try this one. You won't regret it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews