She was a monastic person, one who would be happy to live as a recluse, a hermit . . . if only the other caves would hold occasional yard sales. Ay, there was the rub. Jane had to put up with all those other people because people begat stuff, and stuff, for Jane, was what brought people palatably to life. It made others interesting, warm, human. It was what people kept and what they discarded that guided Jane through the confusion of human emotions. But how could Jane go along on her anonymously merry way, scouting junk in alleys and yards, on rummage sale tables, and auction house floors, if she was involved in some ego-wrenching nonsense in, for the love of Pete, Hollywood? ? Soon after a TV magazine profiles antique collector Jane Wheel for her role as an amateur sleuth, her story catches the eye of Wren Bixby, owner of Bix Pix Flix in Los Angeles. Bixby wants the rights to Jane's story for her offbeat independent film company and eventually persuades Jane to leave behind her newfound hometown celebrity in Kankakee, Illinois, and head west for Hollywood. But Jane's time in Tinseltown is interrupted when she discovers that someone has targeted Bix and her partners, and Jane resumes her role as detective, determined to stop a killer. In Hollywood Stuff, Sharon Fiffer captures the light and dark sides of Hollywood as Jane discovers that in the buying and selling of Hollywood memories and memorabilia, it's a murderous marketplace where the price can kill. ?
Hollywood movie producer and owner of Bix Pix Flix Wren "Bix" Bixby watches collectibles seller Jane Wheel on a newsmagazine show discuss her solving the murder of Johnny Sullivan. Bix thinks Jane's tale as a part-time amateur sleuth would make a great movie so she calls Jane, who agrees to have her investigation filmed. Jane and her best friend media curious Tim Lowry fly to California to consult with Bix who knows her college boyfriend, Jeb Gleason; he and Bix are old buddies too. While discussing Jane's scarecrow investigation, an explosion occurs in a prop room injuring Bix, who is taken to a nearby hospital. Not long afterward someone stabs the person Jane assumes is Bix's business partner at a flea market they both were visiting. Unable to resist, Jane investigates the crime wave devastating the Indie studio. Not so ironically in her fifth appearance, Jane is at her best sleuthing for a Hollywood star, a collectible or a killer rather than playing the Hollywood scene where she seems more like a fifth wheel. Though the Los Angeles based part of the cast comes across less than two dimensional Jane is terrific whether she seeks Danny DeVito, a bargain, or a murderer. Harriet Klausner
New territory for Jane
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
This is new territory for Jane. Literally. The action takes place in Hollywood, with Tim and Detective Oh included. Jane's detective skills are improving, and even though her picker's instincts are thriving, she manages mostly on her own to get to the bottom of this convoluted tale. Old friends and memories conspire to trip her up, but Jane pulls through. Her recall of Oh's instructions repeatedly guide her. This is a great read, and the change of locale is great, the seduction of LA offers new temptations for Jane. I'm glad she went, but I'm glad too she is going home. This is a great addition to the Jane Wheel series.
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