Alone

Valentino #2

by Loren D. Estleman

The second wacky comedic murder romp for Hollywood film detective Valentino

Valentino wants to keep The Oracle, his beloved run-down movie palace, from being condemned before it even reopens, but murder keeps intruding into his otherwise quiet life. At a gala party held in memory of screen legend Greta Garbo, he’s having fun until the host, a hotshot developer named Matthew Rankin, tells Valentino about a certain letter from Garbo to his late wife. She and Garbo had been…close.

Such a letter is of great interest to a film archivist like Valentino, but the the plot thickens when Rankin tells Val that his assistant, Akers, is using this letter to blackmail him. Val is appalled by the thought of blackmail…but that letter sounds juicier all the time. Returning to Rankin’s mansion after the party, Val finds Rankin sitting at his desk with a pistol in his hand, looking at Akers’s dead body on the floor.

Valentino’s in a quandary. He’d love to see that letter, but he can’t. He’s gotten his girlfriend—who works for the police—in trouble, so his love life is, pardon the expression, shot to hell. Worse yet, the building inspector has kicked him out of his unfinished living space in the Oracle, so he takes his life in his hands and moves in with his eccentric mentor, the elderly, insomniac Professor Broadhead. No love, no sleep, no letter—life isn’t fair!

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Crime, Thriller

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Loren D. Estleman is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He writes with a manual typewriter.

Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.

Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery

Reviews

[ted strutz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently received an Advance Uncorrected Proof of ALONE by Loren D. Estleman. I had not heard of Mr. Estleman and was surprised see that he has written some 60 novels, and garnered quite a few awards. ALONE is the second in the ‘Valentino Mystery Series’. His hero, Valentino, is a film archivist who hunts for lost movies, and is restoring an old movie palace in Los Angeles. I love movie lore, and mysteries coupled with behind the scenes goings on are the best. Well, this is a good one… in fact I’m ready to read the first ‘Valentino Mystery’ FRAMES. Mr. Estleman has an interesting writing style, in third person… but at times when Valentino was alone it felt like first person, and I was there with him. He has created an interesting hero and cast of supporting characters who are colorful and very believable. He is a writer who introduces a new character without over describing them, so that the reader can form their own mental image. I found myself liking Val’s girlfriend… very much. I thought the mystery was a little weak and tied up too easily at the end, but Valentino’s relationships with his friends (and not so friends), plus the ongoing battle to finish the theater was such fun to read that it made up for a less complicated mystery involving murder and the Greta Garbo legend.

Got to go find that first book now!

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - Wonderful, funny, escapist entertainment for stressful times.

Having enjoyed the first Valentino mystery, Frames, I was in the mood for more of the light-hearted antics of Valentino, Harriet, Professor Broadhead, and Fanta. I wasn't disappointed.

As Val continues his mission to restore the historic Oracle theater, he and Harriet find themselves enmeshed in a mystery involving a letter from Greta Garbo, blackmail, and murder. He also has a pesky building inspector, who seems to want to make sure that the Oracle never reopens.

William Dufris is the perfect narrator for this series.

The end of the book contains an extensive list of source material and information about Greta Garbo's life and work. An extra bonus.

Besides finishing up the Valentino series, I must look into other works by Mr. Estleman.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in Estleman's series featuring Valentino, a UCLA film archivist or Film Detective. I really enjoyed the first entry in this series, Frames, which was about Valentino finding the fabled lost footage from the epic silent film Greed along with a dead body in an old movie theater called the Oracle that Valentino bought and wants to restore to its former glory. Well in Alone, he is still working on the restoration but in the mean time a millionaire developer named Rankin tells Valentino about some lost footage of Greta Garbo where she debuted in an early ad called How Not to Dress. Rankin's dead wife was a friend of Garbo's and along with the footage, his wife had corresponded with Garbo for years before both of their deaths. But then Rankin shoots and kills his assistant who was supposedly blackmailing him because of a letter from Garbo to Rankin's wife showing that they were in fact Lesbian lovers. But is this really the truth or did Rankin kill the assistant for another reason?

To me, this novel was sort of a letdown. Like I said, I really enjoyed the first novel in the series with Valentino's involvement with the Greed footage. But this one was lacking in that Valentino really wasn't that relevant to the murder by Rankin and subsequent investigation. Valentino does have some problems with a shady building inspector who wants a payoff to okay the renovation of the Oracle and he has some on and off moments with his girlfriend, Harriet, who is also an LAPD medical examiner. But overall, there was not much action and very little mystery to the story. I did however enjoy the tidbits about early Hollywood and Greta Garbo in particular. Estleman also provides a good bibliography of related books as well as Garbo films at the end. I will probably read more in the series and hopefully the next one, Alive!, about Bela Lugosi's screen test for Frankenstein will be better.

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is about a man named Valentino who works with the UCLA film department to hunt down, save, and restore old films. He's jokingly called a "film detective" and is hard at work spending all of his earnings (and going into debt) restoring an old movie theater which he also lives in.

In this novel, Valentino has to deal with problems in his love life, a particularly annoying county inspector, a lost film reel with the first appearance of slightly chubby 16-year old Greta Garbo, and a murder by the primary patron of the film restoration department.

While the mystery is not particularly puzzling (the murder is clear and admitted to, in self defense), how its going to be solved and how the perpetrator will be brought to justice is up to question. The real strength of this tale is not just the fine dialog but a special treat by Loren Estleman: the police.

Having been a crime writer for over a decade with a Detroit newspaper, Estleman treats police differently than most detective novelists. They're just guys at a job, but they're good at their job and not knuckle dragging idiots or thugs. And because he understands police procedure and professionalism, there aren't any glaring, dumb omissions or mistakes about how the job works, and that is shown in this book with particular emphasis.

Overall an interesting page turner with a nice feel for Hollywood history, and less lurid and implausible than the previous book in this series.

[Craig Pittman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A workmanlike but not terribly exciting entry in Loren D. Estleman's amusing series about film archivist Valentino (no other name), who's trying to work his regular UCLA film studies job, restore an old theater to its former glory and court the lovely crime scene analyst he met in the first book, "Frames."

There's not a lot of mystery going on in this mystery, which basically concerns one question: Did department store magnate and UCLA benefactor Mathew Larkin murder his assistant in cold blood, or did he kill him in self-defense? You won't find the answer all that surprising, although there's a bit of a shock when we get around to the question of motive.

More entertaining is Valentino's skirmishes with an LA County building inspector who hates movies, and all the background material on Greta Garbo (hence the title).

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a prolific writer who writes in several genres. I have read many of his gritty novels set in Detroit so was intrigued to see he had written a series set in Los Angeles.

This is a light-hearted read with lots of humour featuring Valentino, a film archivist, who is a bit of an amateur detective. The reader will also learn a lot about Greta Garbo. There is even a 23 page appendix listing books about Garbo as well as listing her films.

Valentino is in the house of a rich businessman when the businessman shoots and kills a blackmailer in self defence. However is that what really happened?

[Greg Trosclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am thoroughly enjoying Loren D Estleman's Valentino series. I love the movie detective novels. I like Valentino. I like the plotting and care for his secondary characters. Most of all I like the use of real Hollywood history that underlie throughout the stories. I am not a fan of Garbo but after reading the book I want to go watch a film or two of hers to better understand the legend. Good read.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 5 star up until the murderer confessed.

What?

Really, the cops had no way to determine a motive if the killer had just kept quiet.

I really enjoy Valentino and friends and the UCLA area. Spent two years on campus doing my masters in library science. Not much about LA I like, but this area has fond memories.

Looking forward to the rest of this series.

I borrowed a copy from the public library.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read. As a movie buff, and a lover of Golden Age Hollywood movies, this one definitely piqued my interest. The mystery in the story is a little thin, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If anything, it makes the story lighter and easier to follow. I am definitely looking forward to reading other Valentino Mystery novels.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

the 2nd in the 'Valentino' series about a UCLA film historian. The first plot focused on the search for a complete copy of the silent film 'Greed'; this one concerns a mysterious letter written by Greta Garbo. Fun read.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like classics movies and cozy mysteries this book is for you! This entry in the Valentino series focuses on letters that give insight into Greta Garbo's private life. This book is heavier on Hollywood than on mystery.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to be alone

If you are a cinema can you will love this series. Second in the series centers on Greta Garbo and counterfeit scandalous letters. Valentino figures in the crime while still restoring his classic movie house. Full of Hollywood trivia, this series is a winner.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the characters in this series, but this entry emphasizes them over the mystery plot which is extremely predictable and only takes up about a quarter of the book. Love all the classic film details though.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tribute in the form of a mystery-thriller novella to the actress Greta Garbo... a pleasant enjoyable book...

[Elizabeth Quan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy reading Loren D. Estleman's books, and this one did not disappoint. His use of language is very engaging, and his storytelling is original.

[Charles Dingman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining but the characters didn't interest me as much as the movie history incorporated and the sleuthing.

[Chava · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trying to be funny, but it just falls flat.

[John Culuris]

Review to come.

[Monzell Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like these stories about stars and a mystery as well. I will be looking for more of these.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in the series, based around Garbo. Less of a mystery than the first but still an enjoyable read, Really like the characters and the author's afterward.

[Michael Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid follow-up. A joy to hang with these characters again.

[Rebekah Scott]

In Old Hollywood, glamour was everywhere, from the elaborate costumes worn by stars flickering on the silver screen to the opulent decorations on the walls in the ornate theaters, but like many things in the past, much of its history has been lost. Films were destroyed or discarded when studios no longer had the room to store them and once thriving theaters fell into disrepair once they were no longer profitable.

Valentino, a film archivist whose job is to find and preserve old films, was introduced in Estleman’s first Valentino novel “Frames.” In “Frames” the film detective known only by his last name uncovers a piece of cinematic history as well as a decades-old murder mystery when he purchases a rundown theater called The Oracle and finds both a long lost film and a skeleton inside.

In “Alone” Valentino is back, both seeking out old films and working on the restoration of his beloved Oracle. This time he is in pursuit of an early work of Greta Garbo’s entitled “How Not to Dress” which was filmed as an advertisement for the department store where she worked in Sweden, and Valentino’s theater restoration is in jeopardy from an overzealous and corrupt building inspector.

It is at a party celebrating Garbo’s 100th birthday when his host, Matthew Rankin, offers Valentino the coveted footage in exchange for a small favor. It seems that Rankin’s assistant Roger Akers has been blackmailing him for some time over a letter between Rankin’s late wife and Garbo that indicates a relationship closer than mere friendship. All Valentino has to do to get the film is dig up some dirt on Akers to help Rankin end the blackmail. Despite his reluctance, Valentino agrees to meet with Rankin the next morning, but upon his arrival finds Akers dead with Rankin holding the gun.

Rankin claims self-defense, but when the blackmail letter turns out to be a forgery, it is apparent that there is more to the story than just simple extortion, and Valentino is determined to find the truth behind the blackmail and the killing.

“Alone” is a fascinating look into the history and gossip of old Hollywood, and the lives of a few of its inhabitants. It also includes a bibliography for further reading into both Garbo and Hollywood history. The story is entertaining and should be a delight for any old movie buffs as well as casual fans.

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Alone, the second Valentino novel from Loren D. Estleman, our film detective finds himself up to his ears in renovating the old movie palace he's bought, with the help of his contractor, Kalishnikov (really!), and hindered by a supercilious government building inspector who could make life very difficult for him indeed. In the meantime, a very wealthy magnate has invited Valentino and his date, Harriet, to a party in honour of Greta Garbo's centenary, requesting everybody to dress in appropriate costume. Harriet turns out to be a dead ringer for Garbo, which causes the host - whose late wife was a great friend of the film goddess - to faint, which in turn allows him to talk privately to Valentino about the fact that his secretary is blackmailing him with a letter, purported to be from Garbo to his late wife and suggesting a very, er, intimate relationship between them. When said magnate subsequently shoots and kills said secretary, citing blackmail and physical threats as the cause, Valentino reluctantly finds himself teaming up with a fairly unsavory police lieutenant to get to the bottom of the matter.... I rarely read books by the same author back-to-back, as usually the enjoyment is diluted by repetition, but in this case, I found Valentino just as engaging and entertaining as I did in the first novel, Frames. Relationships deepen here, between Valentino and Harriet, and between Valentino and Professor Broadhead, and between the Prof and Fanta, a decades-younger woman who is studying law at UCLA. The resolution of the situation was not what I expected, and the tidbits about the screen icon, Garbo, both during her time in Hollywood and in her reclusive life afterwards, were fascinating to read. Again, Estleman concludes the novel with bibliographies, about Garbo in particular and silent films moving into talkies more generally, and provides a generous filmography of Garbo's films, with detailed synopses. How often can you say you've read a novel with real-world appendices like that? Recommended!

[Iowa City Public Library]

Sometimes I just go to the Fiction new book shelf and choose something because it catches my eye. Alone: a Valentino mystery by Loren Estleman is one of the books I selected on Monday and it turned out to be a good pick. The cover of the book grabbed my interest - it shows the profile of a woman dressed in fashion of the 1930s. And the cover also had the added detail of the sentence: A letter from Garbo is the kiss of death.

Valentino in the subtitle refers to UCLA film archivist who is restoring a Los Angeles film palace, or at least trying to restore it and not the early film actor, although the actor does play a small part in the story. The story revolves around the theater, a wealthy donor whose wife had a “relationship” with Greta Garbo and a murder. The mystery’s pacing is good and keeps the reading quickly turning the pages. What I found most enjoyable about the read were all of the references to film history and restoration. The final segment of the book – Closing Credits was a lovely bonus. It is a bibliography of books on Garbo, theaters – both the early grand ones and grand ones now built for the very wealthy in their homes, books on film quotations and film guides and other books on film and film history. All-in-all, it was a lot of fun and now I will go back and read the first Valentino mystery Frames and hope I enjoy it as much. --Maeve

From ICPL Staff Picks Blog

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estleman always creates intriguing characters, and this book actually suffers for it. Some of the minor characters in sub-plots are so interesting that they detract from the comparitively weak mystery.

Valentino, a film buff and researcher for UCLA, has the chance to obtain a rare Greta Garbo film from before she was famous, but he finds himself running afoul of a corrupt building inspector named Spink, a hostile LAPD cop named Padilla, and a blackmailer who is shot when he attempts to bludgeon his no-longer willing victim.

Spink and Padilla get more ink and mileage than the actual investigation to clear the blackmail victim, and Valentino comes across as callow compared to his work partner, his receptionist--who sounds like a cross between Morticia Adams, Thelma Ritter, and Betty Page--and his girlfriend Harriet Jorgensen, who impersonates Garbo at a costume party. They all serve the book better than his bumbling investigation, which ends with a confession that felt like it was beamed down from Mars. Going back through the book, I found the clue that set up the confession, but it still felt contrived.

As usual, Estleman writes solid dialogue, but I could have actually done without the murder and watched the minor cast play out a larger drama to make this short book (only 250 pages plus generous bibliography and filmography of Garbo, for no particular reason) feel more complete.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The second wacky comedic murder romp for Hollywood film detective Valentino

Valentino wants to keep The Oracle, his beloved run-down movie palace, from being condemned before it even reopens, but murder keeps intruding into his otherwise quiet life. At a gala party held in memory of screen legend Greta Garbo, the host, a hotshot developer named Rankin, tells Valentino about a certain letter from Garbo to his late wife. She and Garbo had been…close.

Such a letter is of great interest to a film archivist like Valentino, but the the plot thickens when Rankin tells Val that his assistant, Akers, is using this letter to blackmail him. Val is appalled by the thought of blackmail…but that letter sounds juicier all the time. Returning to Rankin’s mansion after the party, Val finds Rankin sitting at his desk with a pistol in his hand, looking at Akers’s dead body on the floor."

Val's problems with the greedy building inspector eventually tie in to the case in this quick and facile read from this old hand author.

[Sherrill Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Valentino is trying to restore an old theatre, The Oracle, and a crooked building inspector (Dwight Spink) is blocking him. He has a great building contractor, Leo Kalishnakowv, a Russian whose accent conveniently comes and goes, and a girlfriend, Harriet.

Then there's Ruth, his(?) secretary. "What was the fight about. . . can't agree on the name of the fourth Stooge?" "Shemp. And stop using office equipment for personal communications." "I thought it was Zeppo" "That was the fourth Marx brother." "Right. I dated him once. Did you know he was Jewish?" "They were all Jewish" "I thought Chico was Italian." "What did I say about office equipment?" "If I waited for business to come along all the wires would corrode." She clicked off.

I love this writer! He's SO bright! I wish I were more interested in old movies -- they leave me cold tho I remember some of them, but. Maybe another book . . . The wit and wisdom of this writer makes me think I'd like to own this book, or certainly want to read it again.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#2 in the Valentino series. This series is a hodge-podge that somehow works. Valentino is a UCLA film preservationist. He has purchased a decrepit theatre and is spending a fortune to authentically restore it.
There is a cast of strange characters and doses of humor for the mystery, and a host of classic movie lore for film aficionados.

Valentino focuses on Greta Garbo. Matthew Rankin, whose late wife was a friend of Garbo's, hosts a party honoring Garbo and offers to donate a rare film to UCLA if Valentino will dig up dirt on Roger Akers, who's blackmailing him. Valentino walks into Rankin's study to find the mogul holding a gun and Akers lying dead. Rankin claims he shot Akers in self-defense. Is Rankin telling the truth?

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this charming little book for my birthday (belated) from one of my dear friends who is also a classic movie fiend (as I am). It's part of a series called "The Valentino Murder Mysteries" and this one concerns Greta Garbo. The style reminds me a bit of Agatha Christie (without the British bent)--good character development, low on sex and violence and high on style. The research for the book was excellent and that really showed in the story line both in terms of the information on Garbo and the classic cinema. I was really impressed with how accurate even passing information was. It was a fun read and I plan to get a hold of more of this series as soon as possible.

[Joe Slavinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second of the series, of Valentino, the "Film Detective", fulfills the promise of the first, which is to take a taut murder mystery, and wrap it in the wonderously wacky world of Hollywood. No mere noir series this, it has a terrific cast of very human, but off-beat characters, as one might expect in Tinseltown. Estleman has established a new direction for himself, neither noir detective(ala Amos Walker), or city crime, or western. Fans of his, who read "The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association"(1999), could be aware of his interest in the history of film, as well as his gift for humor. He is truly a well-rounded author, worthy of any avid reader's interest.