Superintendent Littlejohn is back in the Isle of Man, on holiday this time, when he runs into a murder case. Hal Vale, international film star, is murdered in his hotel room while on a location shoot. His beautiful co-star, Monique Dol, flees to the South of France. The Superintendent pursues her there, and finds another corpse in the process. Littlejohn himself and his French colleague Dorange are almost added to the total before the case is concluded.
Worthy but dull; Bellairs' writing is very pedestrian and jumps back and forth uneasily between Littlejohn's viewpoint and authorial omniscience. I would feel happier about Littlejohn if he enjoyed his overseas trips a bit less and put a bit more effort into the investigation. Some mileage is made out of the contrast between Littlejohn's dogged persistence and the cynical amorality of the stars, directors and hangers-on in the film world, but no character really comes to life, and I had to refer back to earlier chapters once or twice to establish who was who.
Jon.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
