A Murder Amongst Angels

By: Tony Piazza

Narrated by: James Romick

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Sexy, platinum-blonde movie siren Gertrude Hurd had it all - fame, men, and riches. But now she's dead. A fallen angel whose broken body and tarnished halo lie on a hillside behind her beachfront cafe. It's 1931, and private detective Tom Logan is back, once again immersed in a perplexing mystery that has him racing against time to track down a merciless killer. As the body count grows, so do the suspects, and his investigation soon has him bucking against corrupt city officials, the mob, and the Hollywood studio system.

©2013 Tony Piazza (P)2015 Tony Piazza

WHAT A GREAT HARD BOILED MYSTERY

A MURDER AMONGST ANGELS BY TONY PIAZZA is the first in this series that I have listened to. It is listed as second in the TOM LOGAN series. I really enjoyed listening to the narration of the audiobook. James Romick brings the hard boiled detective Tom Logan to life as well as all the other characters.

A MURDER AMONGST ANGELS is set in the 1930's . The Great Depression is on the downslide and inflation is on the rise: bread and milk are 9 and 16 cents and Tom Logan is looking at the dead body of his client ,the blond bombshell (bottled blond bombshell) Gertrude Hurd and his morning and day is ruined. Tom vows to find the murderer ,which he finds is difficult. Seems Gertrude is not exactly loved by all , she drinks to access,hates her ex's is suing the studio she works for and does drugs,which makes Tom's job even harder.

I loved this book and cant wait to hear all the rest in the series. The audio book is 10 hours long which could have been shaved down to at least eight by trimming out some of the last two chapters. The last two chapters were in this listeners humble opinion way to long and in places totally irreverent. Other than that, this book is a great listen , a good mystery and a fun hard boiled detective read.

A MURDER AMONGST ANGELS.... BY TONY PIAZZA

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

OH, YES, i sure would recommend this audiobook and i have, many times. I have read the hard copy of this wonderful mystery novel, and made sure I ordered a copy to be sure i had one for my hardcopy collection. Since i have all of Tony Piazza's great mysteries, especially Tom Logan , who has become my very favorite PI.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

This is one of those books/ plots that lures the readers into thinking they have it all figured out.. haha.. not a chance....just when you think you know who did what , where and when, something takes place in the plot line and your suspicions are back to square one. you never get ahead of this talented mystery author, he keeps you guessing to the very end.

What does James Romick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

OH... James Romicks voice brings so , so, much to the experience. As i said earlier i really like the character of Tom Logan. And like most readers i tried to put a voice to him. he was forever changing in my mind...it was unsettling to me.. until I first heard James Romick read the opening lines to the story.... I was hooked... there could be no one else, no other voice for my Tom Logan... James has got his voice mannerisms and all those of the supporting characters , down to a fine science, even the accents, which are so difficult to do, but as a seasoned performer , James has the talent and background to create each voice as the reader has imagined it would be.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A TRUE HOLLYWOOD WHO DONE IT! THE GOLDEN ERA OF THE HOLLYWOOD WHO DONE IT!

A FLAMBOYANT MURDER MYSTERY, SET IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF HOLLYWOOD.

Any additional comments?

WELL, yes, so much to say..this is a must read novel for all mystery lovers.. and for all those, like myself, who long for those wondrous days of Hollywood's Golden Era. The writer gives us every thing we want, with complete and exacting descriptions of people , places and things.. night spots, only frequented by the rich and famous during prohibition. the underworld workings of this highly risky time, when bootleggers and restaurant owners took chances on serving bootlegs whisky. when mobsters hung out with celebrities making for some strange bedfellows...when one of them turns up dead the reader has got to really work hard to even come up with a good guess. this book is so full of twists and turns and a big surprise at the end... well, it's one of those books you never forget. and now to hear it read to me while i just kick back and listen to the melodic voice of James Romick, i can't express enough just how much I have enjoyed this experience. I plan to play it again when the days are cold this winter.. Just me, another grand Tom Logan mystery by Tony Piazza and the soothing voice of James Romick. Can't ask for more than that.. not if you're a true mystery buff.