Tue 2 Jan 2018
Mystery Review: JANE DENTINGER – First Hit of the Season.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[4] Comments
JANE DENTINGER – First Hit of the Season. Jocelyn O’Rourke #2. Doubleday, hardcover, 1984. Dell, paperback, October 1985.
Jocelyn O’Rourke is a young actress and acting coach who knows her way around the Broadway theater thoroughly , both on- and off-, and her insight into the people involved — producers, directors, other actors, even critics — gives her boy friend, homicide detective Phillip Gerrard, plenty of additional meat to chew on while solving a case.
Which in this case involves the death by poisoning of a Broadway critic with a vicious pen — a little too vicious for one of his victims, perhaps.
Author Jane Dentinger, who herself at the time was in much the same profession as her leading lady, is very, very good when it comes to characters, personal relationships between them, backstage gossip and witty repartee. In this book, though, she is not as good when it comes down to clues and describing actual detective work. She knows the setting of this flavorful Broadway concoction like the palm of her hand, however, and while your opinion may vary, this goes a long way toward mitigating any weaknesses you also may find in the crime solving that’s involved.
The Jocelyn O’Roarke series —
1. Murder on Cue (1983)
2. First Hit of the Season (1984)
3. Death Mask (1988)
4. Dead Pan (1992)
5. The Queen is Dead (1994)
6. Who Dropped Peter Pan? (1995)
January 2nd, 2018 at 8:20 pm
I very much enjoyed these…because of the knowledgeable use of the backgrounds and the charm of the lead character. Somewhat superficial of me I know.
January 2nd, 2018 at 10:16 pm
There is a trend in modern detective stories, even very good ones, where the least important aspect of the work is actually solving the crime.
Well done series, but I miss the detective and mystery element in mystery and detective stories.
January 3rd, 2018 at 12:01 am
It wouldn’t take much to persuade me to read more in the series. I enjoy books written by people who love what they’re writing about.
March 15th, 2018 at 1:27 pm
I had the honor and pleasure of being Jane Dentinger’s publicist while working at Viking Penguin eons ago. We got to spend some time together at various Bouchercons and other events, and she is an absolutely delightful person, as well as being a good writer. I hope she is thriving somewhere.