The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes

Isn't it funny how over time your tastes change? There are foods I never liked as a child that I love now and some I used to like and am less impressed with now. There are colors I like better than I used to, clothing styles I wouldn't have touched with a ten foot pole that I'll now wear. And of course, my reading tastes have evolved too. I started out reading everything. Then I went through a stage where if it wasn't literature (and please pronounce that as lit-ruh-chure and loft your nose into the air as you say it), I wasn't interested. I was a serious reader, you see. Then I went through a phase where I read romances like candy, devouring their guaranteed happily ever afters. Now I like to think I am a much more balanced reader. I show more want something that is well-written. I like it to be thoughtful but it doesn't always have to be. Most of all, though, I want a cracking good story. That can mean heavy or light, funny or not. But it means a book that keeps me turning the pages, wanting to live in its world (although for the sad or heavy books, maybe not as one of the characters!). And I am finding these across genres. They happen in literature. They happen in romances. They happen in commercial fiction. To my surprise (and perhaps down to my ever changing taste), they happen in mysteries. David Handler's newest mystery, The Girl With the Kaleidoscope Eyes is one such book. After a twenty year hiatus from his Stewart Hoag series, Handler is back with another adventure for Hoagy and his basset hound sidekick Lulu.

Hoagy was once the darling of the literary world, publishing a novel that promised an amazing career. He married a famous actress but when he was unable to write a second novel, he crashed and burned spectacularly. Now Hoagy's divorced, although still close with his ex-wife, and his career as a ghost writer is pretty successful. But he's still not writing his own novel. His agent offers him a big, developing story as his next ghost project and although there are signs that Hoagy should turn it down, he agrees to it.

Richard Aintree was a famous author who disappeared after his wife committed suicide. He left behind his two daughters, one of whom, Monette, has turned herself into a wildly successful lifestyle brand, married a popular actor from whom she is now separated, and has two teenage children. The other, Reggie, was once a poet of some re-known herself as well as being an ex of Hoagy's, the one to whom he dedicated his novel, his first love. The sisters have been estranged for two decades, ever since their father disappeared. It appears though, that Richard is preparing to surface from his long-time self-imposed anonymity, writing first to Monette and then to Reggie. The literary establishment wants Hoagy to document this reappearance in a book. Or the whole thing could be a hoax for a host of reasons, perpetrated by a host of different people. Either way, Hoagy and his four legged sidekick Lulu fly out to Monette's house in LA and get completely embroiled in the sensational tabloid mess going on in Hollywood. Monette's husband has apparently gotten his nineteen year old co-star pregnant and it's caused a major media feeding frenzy. In the midst of this, Hoagy's trying to figure out the legitimacy of the letters to the Aintree daughters but his assignment gets completely overshadowed when there's a murder and then even more bodies start to pile up. People are clearly lying about what truly happened and Hoagy, assisted by Lulu, just wants to uncover the truth.

Although this is the ninth in the series, it stands on its own with no trouble. Hoagy and Lulu are fantastic characters and all of the secondary characters are fully realized and totally human as well, flaws and all. The 1992 setting is delightful, as it allows the reader to remember back to the beginnings of personal computers, cell phones the size of bricks, and other nascent technology and Handler does a good job integrating their use into the story, grounding the novel in a definite time period, without being too serious or didactic about the technological advances we've now gone so far past. His portrayal of the chaos and unreality of Hollywood and celebrity is marvelous as well. There is a wonderful sense of humor here and it pops up in unexpected places such as when Hoagy dons a light green shirt to match his skin after he'd been drinking the night before or when the literary agent and the producer both retreat to opposite sides of the pool to get better signals and talk/shout on their cell phones. It's not often that I've read a mystery that made me smile like this one did, twining levity and noir together so well. And the ending had several neat twists to it that were entirely believable in the context of what went before. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and might just have to catch myself up on the back list of Hoagy and Lulu's adventures and I certainly hope they will add more in the future as well because this was indeed a cracking good read. show less

When I started reading this book it really had the feel of the noir mysteries of the ‘4oies. The plot could easily be moved from time period to time period with adaptations made with the surrounding atmosphere. Remove the cell phones and other more modern references and I could easily see this being a more historical mystery.

As it is the hero of the tale, Hoagy and his faithful dog Lulu, were last seen many years ago and Mr. Handler resurrected him for this tale. I must admit that I wasn’t aware of this character and that is my loss because I really like him. And Lulu – she is one of the funniest animal characters I’ve encountered in a while.

There is a pretty big list of characters in the story but they are all distinct and show more ,mostly well developed. It was easy to keep track of them all. The story was fun and new readers like me will be entertained and old fans will find much to appreciate. The plot starts out with a small mystery about a long lost writer and it turns into a Hollywood divorce/murder mystery with the revelation of family secrets no one knew anyone was keeping.

Once I started reading that was it, I was hooked and I didn’t want to stop. This book is a perfect example of why it’s good to step away from what you usually read and try something new. If this IS what you usually read it will be a good afternoon’s entertainment for you. show less

I received an ARC of The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes by David Handler from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book by Handler and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy his writing. I especially liked this one since it is set in NYC in 1992, a time I lived there myself, so the book brought back fond memories of the city. Handler makes all his settings vivid, even if one is not familiar with them. The mystery is clever and I truly did not see the resolution coming at all. The personal baggage of Stewart Hoag aka Hoagy, the protagonist and amateur detective, was believable and added a nice second layer to the story of the whodunit. The antics of Lulu, Hoagy’s basset hound, provided some nice show more lighter moments and further humanized Hoagy, making him more than just a burned-out cynic. While there are eight previous Stewart Hoag novels, this can be read as a stand-alone, although going back and reading the earlier books will add some richness to this one. show less

Hoagy and his dog are on the way to California so that he can ghostwrite a book on his ex-wife’s father who apparently disappeared 10 yrs earlier but has now written a letter to Hoagy’s former sister-in-law (also a former lover of Hoagy’s back in his heyday). Hoagy arrives at his ex-wife’s house, now a tv star with paparazzi outside her gate 24-7, her two teenage children, a housekeeper and her sister soon to arrive with a letter from their father. Monette is separated from her tv star husband, who has a drug and steroid problem with a trainer/bodyguard always around. He also has a pregnant teenage starlet girlfriend. At Joey’s 17th birthday party, all the characters are there and there’s a murder followed the next day by show more two more deaths. Hoagy helps the police solve the crime. show less

Stewart Hoag wrote one best seller and then discovered he didn't have another novel in him. Now he makes his living as a ghost writer and part time amateur sleuth. This is my first Stewart Hoag book and it won't be my last. Hoagy is laid back, funny and along with his sidekick Lulu his beloved Basset Hound they get the job done. Another thing I love about this book is there is not a whole lot of sex and violence, nothing graphic, just a good fast paced read which is so refreshing. In the acknowledgments it says that it's been 20 years since the last Stewart Hoag lets hope more come a lot sooner. I'll be waiting.

I won this from LibraryThing Early Reviewers for an honest review.

Fun, amateur detective story.

Apparently David Handler wrote a bunch of Stewart Hoag mysteries about 20 years ago and was encouraged to do another now. He explains that celebrity secrets---an important part of the stories---are impossible to keep in this age of the Internet. Fortunately, someone suggested that he make this new book take place in 1992. This is the first book of the series that I have read.
There is a basset hound smart enough and expressive enough, even if she can't speak English, to be a significant part of the detective team.

A quote I liked:
"There's a brief slice of time in our lives, a sweet season of madness, that falls right in between wo we want to be and who we end up being. That was you and me." [p. 115]

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Stewart Hoag ("Hoagy") was once a famous writer, but now is a celebrity ghostwriter. When another once-famous writer seemingly resurfaces, Hoagy is tapped to write the story, but finds himself drawn into a murder mystery.

Hoagy is a great character, with a great dog, surrounded by a unique and colorful supporting cast. It is easy to differentiate who is who, and to keep track of what is happening.

I really enjoyed the mystery aspect as well. It had a slow buildup that really worked, and a denouncement that was surprising but made sense.

The reveal felt a little rushed with the slow buildup that show more had preceded it. It still worked, but I would have liked Handler to have spent a little more time on it.

This was a unique, character-driven mystery that I definitely enjoyed. show less