Book Review: Remains to be Scene by R. T. Jordan (Polly Pepper Mysteries #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Characters are fun if over the top

Cons: Slightly weak ending; weak writing

The Bottom Line:

Book's over the top

But in a very fun way

Just enjoy the ride

Living Legend Polly Pepper Finds Murder on the Comeback Trail

Remains To Be Scene introduces us to Polly Pepper. Thirty years ago, she starred in the hugely successful Polly Pepper Playhouse, a musical comedy variety show. It ran for years and still has a huge fan base. She made enough money to buy Pepper Plantation in Hollywood where she lives with her grown son Tim and her maid Placenta, who is as much part of the family as she is a maid. Polly is always looking for a way to get back in the public's eye, but roles are getting harder to come by.

The news of Trixie Wilder's death sends shock waves through Pepper Plantation. While never close friends, Polly knew the character actress and is upset to learn of her death. Still, this does open up a spot in her final film, Detention Rules!, a high school musical heading to the big screen and starring three of the hottest young actors of the day. So playing a grandmother isn't Polly's first choice of roles, but she'll take what she can get. Unfortunately, she is beat out by her long time rival Sedra Stone for the part. Or maybe that was fortunately since Sedra takes a swan dive off the high dive into an empty pool her first day on the set.

A few careless words from Polly send the police hot on the trail of a suspect that Polly decides is innocent. So she, Tim, and Placenta begin looking into the deaths themselves. The list of suspects is certainly long. Can the diva pull off the ultimate act and catch a killer?

This comic mystery will appeal to fans of Hollywood gossip. We're treated to an insider's look into the lives of the rich and famous. There are lots of throw away lines that any consumer of pop culture will eat up. Naturally, real famous people are reduced to cameos or brief mentions, but the fictional characters certainly sound like people you'd find there.

The mystery itself starts out a little slowly while the characters are established. The book itself doesn't feel slow, and once the mystery really gets going, I was hooked. And while the killer was logical (I had the person correctly pegged myself but wasn't sure), we're never told exactly how Polly reached that conclusion herself, which did disappointment.

The characters are what make this mystery stand out. They are absolutely over the top. Very rarely do they even pretend to be real. But they work for this book. Honestly, I think real characters would have ruined the fun of the story because these characters are a hoot. I was laughing and chuckling throughout most of the story. These characters kept me entertained through the set up to the mystery, so I didn't mind in the least.

The biggest weakness is the writing. The author has a couple bad habits. First, he tells us lots of background on the characters, sometimes slowing the story down to do it. Worse, he has a habit of telling us things instead of showing us. This makes me more of an observer rather then a participant in the story.

Despite the flaws, Remains To Be Scene is fun. It's a wild and wacky look at the lives Hollywood royalty. I look forward to Polly's future adventures.