The Howard Hughes Affair (1978)

by Stuart M. Kaminsky

Series: Toby Peters (4)

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A counter-espionage job leads to Toby Peters facing the barrel of a gun After midnight, NBC Studios is as quiet as a grave. For Toby Peters, it may as well be a sealed coffin. He came on a stakeout, and has spent hours in the dark of a television soundstage waiting for the appearance of a man with a silenced pistol. The killer has already taken three lives, and Peters's may be the next. After a long wait, Peters's dulled reflexes let the gunman get the drop on him. A frantic chase through the deserted studio leaves Peters shoeless, gunless, and out of ideas. Finally the killer corners him and prepares to fire. The stakeout was Howard Hughes's idea. Earlier that week, the aviation magnate hired Peters to investigate the theft of top-secret blueprints from his home. What starts as counter-espionage turns into a murder investigation, and Peters finds himself in the uncomfortable role of murderer's bait.… (more)

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I love this series. Currently re-reading, casually.

Toby is hired by Howard Hughes to find out if one of his dinner guests copied secret plans for a war plane, from his office. The usual gaggle of historical people, including help from Basil Rathbone doing his best Holmes impression (with emotions!), show up. Guns, gals, and a steady stream of bodies.

Pulp fun, at its best. (

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James_Patrick_Joyce | Oct 24, 2020 |

The Howard Hughes Affair by Stuart Kaminsky is the 4th entry in his mystery series that features private detective Toby Peters. Peters works in L.A. during the 1940's and often gets called by the famous to help them get out of whatever trouble they have gotten themselves into. This time he is called by Howard Hughes to find out who stole the plans for an experimental plane.

Although he is working for Howard Hughes, Toby is aided in this case by movie star, Basil Rathbone, which greatly added to my enjoyment as Basil Rathbone is one of my favorite actors from that era. They team up to question the suspects which appears to stir things up as before too long, Toby is dodging bullets and stumbling over corpses.

I find this a fun series with it's great 1940s Hollywood setting and the inclusion of many of the top stars of the day. This plot with it's many references to Nazis took place in the days leading up to Pearl Harbor. I am already looking forward to Toby's next case which is foreshadowed at the end of this book as Toby gets a phone call from Boris Karloff. (

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DeltaQueen50 | Oct 19, 2020 |

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Toby Peters (4)

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Il giallo [Mondadori] (1682)

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The Howard Hughes Affair

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Los Angeles, California, USA

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Pearl Harbor Attack

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Epigraph

“We have got to the deductions and the inferences,” said Lestrade, winking at me. “I find it hard enough to tackle facts, Holmes, without flying away after theories and fancies.”
“You are right,” said Holmes demurely; “you do find it very hard to tackle the facts.”
—The Boscombe Valley Mystery, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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The microphone and boom thudded down on the stage within a sigh of taking off the toes of my bare right foot.

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A counter-espionage job leads to Toby Peters facing the barrel of a gun After midnight, NBC Studios is as quiet as a grave. For Toby Peters, it may as well be a sealed coffin. He came on a stakeout, and has spent hours in the dark of a television soundstage waiting for the appearance of a man with a silenced pistol. The killer has already taken three lives, and Peters's may be the next. After a long wait, Peters's dulled reflexes let the gunman get the drop on him. A frantic chase through the deserted studio leaves Peters shoeless, gunless, and out of ideas. Finally the killer corners him and prepares to fire. The stakeout was Howard Hughes's idea. Earlier that week, the aviation magnate hired Peters to investigate the theft of top-secret blueprints from his home. What starts as counter-espionage turns into a murder investigation, and Peters finds himself in the uncomfortable role of murderer's bait.

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