Fade to Black

by Stan Nicholls

Following the accidental death of reclusive Silvester Whitbourne, a collector of film memorabilia, his nephew Ben joins his obnoxious relations at Silvester's estate, Xanadu, to learn what is to become of the collection, only to find the heirs being removed one by one.After the death of Silvester Whitbourne, a collector of film memorabilia, his nephew Ben joins his kin at Silvester's estate to hear the fate of the collection, only to find the heirs being removed one by one

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Stan Nicholls (born 1949) is a British author and journalist, working full-time since 1981. He is the author of many novels and short stories but is best known for the internationally acclaimed Orcs: First Blood series.

Reviews

[Leila S.A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Se trata de una novela policial con pintas de ser escrita por un principiante.

Tras la muerte de Silvester Whitbourne, un coleccionista loco del cine, sus herederos se encontrarán en Xanadú a los fines de la lectura del testamento.

En el transcurso de la estadía, el tiempo los aislará y comenzarán a sucederse muertes sospechosas.

Rescato el prólogo porque me pareció divertido. A mitad del libro me aburrí pero como mi curiosidad puede más, lo quise terminar.

Los personajes eran planos. No encuentro ninguna novedad, lo que me llamó la atención, es decir, el mundo de Hollywood, me cansó por la forma que el autor lo manejó. Misterios al estilo de Christie, reteniendo información, no cualitativamente porque no le llega ni a los talones.

Pronto abandonará mis estanterías.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This actually wasn't bad! It was quite clever how the murderer was concealed!

* So, there's a group of 12 people all coming together for the reading of a will. The dead man has a large house and a massive collection of movie memorabilia that's worth millions.
* Before the will is even read, one of the 12 turns up dead - Gwen. Gunshot to the face (yuck), but the odd thing is that she's locked inside the library, and the door is locked from the inside. They're not sure if it's suicide or murder.
* The will is read and basically the house and collection are left to the 12 people, and the only way to sell is for all 12 people to agree, which won't happen because the man's dying wish was for the collection to be kept together and opened to the public.
* The generators are found to have been sabotaged, the phone lines cut, and the vehicles damaged so they're completely isolated and cut off.
* A policeman and a vicar show up at the door (sounds like the start of a joke) - the police car broke down.
* Next to die is Jeremy - hit by Jaws in the basement pool.
* The gardener who used to be a stuntman tries to do a stunt by jumping out of a third floor window, but ends up splatted on the floor because his air mat thing has been moved 🤦
* Next Crispin dies - he appears to have been poisoned.
* Ben comes up with a plan to try and flush out the killer - he pretends to have found a newer copy of the will and waits to see who tries to kill him 😂
* Anyway, it turns out that Gwen wasn't really dead, her and her husband faked her murder, so that she could run around murdering other people. They intended to steal some of the collection and run off, and didn't even intend to take their snotty daughter Helena with them 😂

[Joeymib · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro para jóvenes, inspirado (demasiado) en las historias de Agatha Christie. Lectura sencilla sin muchas vueltas.

[Polonia]

Not bad

[Leyendothriller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho.

[Jacob Fifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

my grandad wrote it and i like it👍

[Emily *No longer active* · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good little murder mystery novel.

[FLaure · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le richissime Silvester WHITBOURNE est mort. Malgré son accoutrement de clochard, il laisse un très bel héritage : son manoir XANADU situé sur le mont Adrian et sa très belle collection sur le 7e art, la passion de sa vie.
J'ai aimé ce huis clos plein de rebondissement. Nous sommes dans l'ambiance d'un roman d'Agatha Christie. La tension monte au fil des feuillets.
Le tueur n'est connu que dans les dernières pages. Tout le monde peut vouloir éliminer un héritier. Le legs n'en sera que plus grand pour chacun. Une très belle chute.
Ma chronique complète : https://vie-quotidienne-de-flaure.blo...