Filmi, Filmi, Inspector Ghote

Inspector Ghote #10

by H.R.F. Keating

A grisly murder has plunged Bollywood, the film capital of India, into chaos. Ghote gets so caught up with giving an Academy Award-winning performance as a sleuth that the curtain almost comes down on his own life.

Genres: India, Mystery

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating was an English writer of crime fiction most notable for his series of novels featuring Inspector Ghote of the Bombay CID.

H. R. F. KEATING was well versed in the worlds of crime, fiction and nonfiction. He was the crime books reviewer for The Times for fifteen years, as well as serving as the chairman of the Crime Writers Association and the Society of Authors. He won the CWA Gold Dagger Award twice, and in 1996 was awarded the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for outstanding service to crime fiction.

Series:
. Inspector Ghote
. Harriet Martens

Series contributed to:
. Malice Domestic
. Perfectly Criminal

Reviews

[Les Wilson]

Enjoyed every book in this series. Just 4 to go.

[Zeb Kantrowitz]

Inspector Ghote gets a call from his top boss to come and see him. Ghote is given a plum assignment to find the killer of the most famous actor in Bollywood. The actor is the primary male in the most expensive film ever made by an Indian film studio, but some one dropped a flood light on him. Unlike Hollywood, an Indian actor could be making as many as fifteen movies at one time. His death will be financial catastrophy for the studio. Solving the murder of one of Indian's most popular actors could be a step up the ladder that Ghote and make him a celebrity.

This is an odd book because Ghote's character is normally a cross between Columbo and Inspector Clouseau. He can be very awkward but always seems to come out with the right perp in the end. In this book he veers from being totally aggressive to totally passive, which makes how he goes about his work very off for him. I also found that much of the book is redundant as if Keating didn't know what to do with this idea once he started.

[Петр]

Brilliant, still a great read, the character development of Inspector G. V. Ghote is superb.

[Hilary Roberts]

I love these books but this wasn't one of the better ones.

[Julie Davis]

The first chapters seemed like any old mystery set in Hollywood. However, after a while it turned into a riveting mystery. At first Inspector Ghote was star struck with dreams of being a celebrity detective. However, once he returned to a realistic view of his place in the investigative process it became interesting to follow his thought process as he put increasing pressure on suspects. Dedinitely recommended in audiobook form.

[Cindy]

Inspector Ghote is at first surprised and pleased to be sent to investigate the murder of a movie star. But when he gets there, he finds that this is not going to be the quick and easy case he hoped for. He knows very little about the film world, and lead after lead seems to go nowhere. This may be the case that ruins his career.

I like Inspector Ghote. He is a very sympathetic character, with real human emotions. He is dazzled by the lovely leading lady. He imagines himself covered in glory and at the center of attention. He gets furious with stubborn suspects. But he sticks with it until he solves the case.

If you like mysteries set around movies, you might also like Frequent Hearses by Edmund Crispin and The Mirror Crack'd by Agatha Christie.

[Maren]

I got this book at DI and read it on a trip. It takes place in Bollywood and was written during the 70's, I think. I'm not sure how much I liked the main character of Inspector Ghote. The setting in Bollywood was really fun. There were a few parts that if you have seen any Bollywood movies are really funny. At one point he is interviewing a witness (a Bollywood actor) and starts picturing him going into a musical number at a cultural heritage site and later riding in a new sports car. You have to see Bollywood to appreciate the book. It wasn't wonderful, but it had some great parts.

[John Frankham]

An enjoyable if average Inspector Ghote whodunnit. Our hero has to find out who murdered a Bollywood film star. Fun in the depiction of the Indian film industry, the story is rather linear, without plot breadth, and majors on Ghote's internal dialogues and thoughts as he tries to remain level-headed while in awe to the stars he has to question.

[Kate]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...