Bullet for a Star

Bullet for a Star by Stuart M. Kaminsky

https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/RC4W1Y63BWVU1?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp

This is the first in a series involving Hollywood Private Investigator Toby Peters. This book is set in 1940. Peters had worked for a studio as a guard until he was fired. So, now he is a low-rent PI working seedy divorce cases. At the beginning of this book, Toby gets a call from the studio because one of its stars is being blackmailed with a picture implicating him in statutory rape.

The star is Errol Flynn, who is making Santa Fe Trails at the time. The story is interwoven with the names of stars who make cameo appearances. Toby gets information from Humphrey Bogart, who shares with Toby that his next role will be as a private investigator in “The Maltese Falcon.”

These details are a big part of the charm of the book. In itself, the book is well-written and a decent mystery.