Tracking a Painting Stolen by a Dead Man
There seem to be certain times and places I am drawn to in my historical mysteries and one of those is old Hollywood. The Nate Ross series has continually provided a fun glimpse into that time period, and A Killing Way, the fourth in the series, is no exception.
Nate is a former police officer who had to leave the force. He’s set up shop as a private investigator. While he’s not a fan of motion pictures and tries to stay out of the business as much as he can, he keeps finding himself involved in cases that involve the business.
For example, his latest client is silent film star William S. Hart, a man famous for his many Westerns. He’s recently had a portrait done by renowned artist Charlie Russell stolen from his house, and he wants Nate to get it back. He even knows exactly who took it.
Sounds easy, right? It would be except the thief was recently killed, the victim of a deadly accident on the set of a Western that has divided the community of cowboys who are day players in the movies. Nate wanted nothing to do with the case or the controversy, but now he has to wade in if he has any hopes of finding the painting. Can he do it?
I’ll admit, I probably wouldn’t have heard of William S. Hart if it weren’t for the fact that he lived in the town I call home here in Southern California. It was fun meeting him via the page. There’s a key scene that takes place at a local landmark, which I enjoyed as well. Although I had to laugh at myself as I was reading those scenes. I struggled not to picture how it looks today, almost 90 years after the book is set. I know it would have looked very different back then.
The mystery was well done. There were several great twists as the story unfolded, and I was always anxious to see what was going to happen next. Good thing it was a quick read with lots of action to keep us glued to the page. The book reaches a satisfactory conclusion, and I felt the various threads were wrapped up.
Fans of the series will be happy to hear that we see all the usual supporting characters and get to meet some fun new ones as well. A few of them could have been a little stronger, but that’s my only critic, and it’s a minor one.
Being a PI novel, there is a tad more violence and language than the cozies I typically read. But it’s a very small amount.
A Killing Way is a great addition to the Nate Ross series. Fans will be glad to be back in Nate’s presence, and if you haven’t started this series yet, I recommend you do so today.
Do check out the rest of the Nate Ross Mysteries.
Old Hollywood is a great setting for a mystery!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge