Want a mysteries series that is fast - under 200 pages per book - humorous, and starring some fun aging film stars? Check out the Marian Babson series featuring Trixie Dolan and Evangeline Sinclair - two grand dames of the American cinema.
Reel Murder
Encore Murder
Shadows in their Blood
Even Yuppies Die
Break a Leg, Darlings
The Cat Who Wasn’t a Dog
They start out by traveling to London for a special retrospective of Evangeline's films. Trixie has come along for the ride. They end up running into old rivals and flames from film days, and are shown ' the respect they deserve' , by eager young fans. Their housing leaves a bit much to be desired - a house that has been split into flats - and it becomes less desirable when they discover a body in the building. Thus they take it upon themselves to solve the crime - they did it in the movies didn't they?
The mysteries are not great puzzlers, but with these characters you really don't care. Trixie is the slightly maternal one, who was the hoofer with the heart of gold in all of her films. Evangeline is the diva who will battle her perceived rivals and tell it like it is, but only the way she thinks it is. Their dialogue is fun and it is a stitch when other people take them for just naive old ladies - when they could tell folks a thing or two about surviving in the cutthroat world of Hollywood. And they make sure there's always a brandy or two waiting.
Babson moves the stories along and is very good about the continuity in the stories considering that they are written several years apart - I'm finding that this is becoming a bit rare now days! ( The book where they make a cheesy vampire movie - they are the vampire aunts - is a hoot!)
Lots of fun - I hope she writes some more.
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