Rhapsody in Blood

The story is a complex, captivating mystery that approaches to teach lessons about the dangers of bigotry and the shallowness of some people, and how dangerous both can be affecting how we deal with our everyday lives. The author takes the character out of his cozy nest in West Hollywood, teaming him with longtime friend, LA Times reported Alexandra Templeton, covering the shooting of a movie at a historic hotel in the remote town of Eternal Springs, now known as "Haunted Springs" due to two murders that took place there, and which is the focus of the film being made. They meet the cast, including the 30ish male lead...a frequent subject of tabloid rumors about his sexuality whose seeming interest in Benjamin has him simultaneously show more flattered and flustered. When another reporter, known for her merciless "expose'" stories about celebrities, is found murdered with her throat cut (the same as the two victims that are the subject of the film), Benjamin finds himself in the middle of the mystery, with no shortage of colorful suspects around for him to choose from. Was the murderer the actor, who feared the reporter would try to "out" him, or perhaps it was the rapper with the "gangsta" image who seemed to alienate everyone, or the troublemaker midget stuntman, the hotel owner living with a troubling secret from his past, or perhaps it was the ghostlike female figure Benjamin saw on the rocks outside the hotel window, right before the murder took place? Lots of suspects all providing a really good mystery. show less

Set in a hotel with a dark past, this one reads more like a cozy than Mr. Wilson's usual stuff. As usual, despite his best intentions, Ben gets caught up in events, helping to solve three murders and a suicide. A pretty fast read in the end.

This mystery takes place on the set of a movie that's being shot at the scene of a murder in a remote hotel. Despite a nice setup of plot devices, the mystery ultimately falls flat.

I ended up scanning through the last half of the book.

This mystery should have read like "Ten Little Indians" but it had none of the suspense, charm, or wit of Agatha Christie's writing.