Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
The Elvis and Marilyn Affair
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Robert S. Levinson
Class/Genre: Mystery
Series: Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner
Forge, Aug 1999, $22.95, 316 pp.
Soap superstar Stevie Marriner looks forward to her stage debut when she performs in a one-person show as Marilyn Monroe. However, Stevie finds the road to critical acclaim filled with potholes as her and director Black Jack Sheridan argue over the role. Their dispute ends when an unknown assailant murders Black Jack using the victim’s Oscar as the weapon. The police feel Stevie had motive and opportunity, especially since she was at the crime scene at the time of the murder.
Whenever Stevie faces trouble, which seems as she does every day, she turns to her former husband, reporter Neil Gulliver for help. Neil begins to investigate, starting with Stevie’s alibi. As he digs deeper, he finds a tenuous link between the director’s death and a rumored cache of letters proving Elvis and Marilyn shared a heated love affair. Apparently, someone will kill to make sure that no one substantiates the rumor.
Is THE ELVIS AND MARILYN AFFAIR a novel version of the supermarket tabloids? In some respects the answer is yes as the story line centers on a rumor that excites people even though both parties have been dead for over two decades. However, to his credit Robert S. Levinson turns that rumor into an interesting who-done-it that makes the plot more than just a one-line tale. The lead characters are an intriguing duo, especially their off-kilter relationship that seems to fit Hollywood.. Mr. Levinson pulls out the sensationalism most readers try to hide, but makes it feel respectable.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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