To Catch a Spy

by Stuart M. Kaminsky

Book Overview

Following his triumphant return in "A Few Minutes Past Midnight, " Hollywood gumshoe Toby Peters takes his 22nd outing, this time with Cary Grant. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786710233
• ISBN13: 9780786710232
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Publishers
• Length: 230 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Toby Peters is a riot!

Stuart Kaminsky's creative output seems endless. With his Toby Peters (private investigator) series, we go tongue in cheek with our erstwhile gumshoe detective-and willingly. In "To Catch a Spy," Toby is hired to help out Cary Grant (Toby's resume with Hollywood figures include Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Charlie Chaplin, and others). It's 1943 and America (and Hollywood) is caught up in the wartime fervor and patriotism. However, the sordid, domestic side of life continues, war or not, and Mr. Grant hires Toby to help him retrieve some "sensitive, personal documents," no doubt compromising to the Hollywood heart throb! Alas and alack, there's the accompanying murder and Toby and Cary are off to the races (Grant, incidentally, is working for the British Intelligence Service), bungling, stumbling, and finally emerging victoriously (of course!). Kaminsky, a noted film historian, is right at home with the Hollywood setting. His wit, cleverness, and fast-paced writing make this series go right down to the wire with plenty of excitement, humor, and even adventure! This is the 22nd Peters episode and Kaminsky certainly has plenty of possible stars to put at Peters' disposal! This book (and series) should appeal to anyone who's fond of the Golden Age of Hollywood era; however, one doesn't have to be a big film buff to enjoy the story line (but it probably helps!).

fun and nostalgic

I love these books; they are a fun read for anyone who likeshistory, old movies, tongue in cheek humor, and a wonderfulhero, Toby Peters, who is truly "bloody but unbowed"; thewacky supporting characters are what make the books age sowell, along with a vein of seriousness that runs underneaththe fluff; if these books were filmed 10 years ago, HarrisonFord would have been a perfect Toby Peters (and who is to sayhe still wouldn't?); a tease-- finding out what "Trout Plaut"is is just one of the many good reasons to read this book!

Nostalgia

Yes, Nostalgia about sums up the essential element of the Toby Petersmystery series, and this entry continues the tradition. Author Kaminskyis an authority on the golden age of Hollywood, and his Peters seriesabounds with name-dropping references to every conceiveablefood, drink, movie, gossip, auto, appliance, etc. that can be mentionedin a story. If you ever wondered what brands of chewing gum, soft drink, auto, etc. were used by people in the '40s, the author suppliesthe brand name. And, interestingly, most found are those that no longerexist, so some readers will find their memories touched by old associations long forgotten.Detective Peters himself drives a Crosley automobile, long-disappeared,and you will rarely see such a thing even at old-auto shows. They justweren't saved and haven't been restored; they were too small and tooinexpensive. But small and economical, so they are another exampleof a product ahead of its time. But the nostalgia is a very nice backdrop to a pleasant set of mysteries,and the reader gets a nice intro to the detective's mind-set whenintroduced to his cat, which is named after Dashiell Hammett. When youthink of Hammett, you are on your way to a nice entertainment.This time, Peters gets called by Cary Grant, and they set off on an adventure where they chase and neutralize some Nazi spys, but onlyafter Peters gets his usual quota of blows to the head and punches tothe body, as well as a few forays into brambles and brush. All typicalfor this detective, but we end up sympathizing with him and all his achesand pains.After all, Cary Grant trusts and likes him, so how can we do any less?This story contains a trip down memory lane and a satisfactory mystery.Recommended for all mystery lovers.

Private Eye to the Classic Hollywood Stars

On New Year's Day 1944, Hollywood down-and-out private eye Toby Peters catches a case that again embroils him in a rough-and-tumble series of events alongside one of the silver screen's greatest stars. Cary Grant, already a legend in the making with some of his best work still before him, hires Peters to deliver a package to a clandestine meeting for him. The package contains, Grant says, five thousand dollars in cash. The movie star won't tell Peters what's in the package that he's supposed to pick up. Later, at the meeting, Peters is bushwhacked. When he regains consciousness, the money is gone, the package is missing, and the man he was supposed to meet dies after leaving a cryptic whispered message behind. Stumbling through the park, Peters finds a police officer and reports the murder, only when they return to the tree where he left the corpse, the dead man is gone. Cary Grant keeps Peters on his payroll, and the Hollywood private eye decides to stay because things are not adding up anywhere. Peters has drawn the unwelcome attention of the Los Angeles Police Department, including his brother Phil, and two agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. With his usual cadre of friends, including Gunther the small person, Jeremy the poet, and Shelly the dentist, Peters struggles to find the truth in the morass of half-truths and outright lies as the body count increases.Stuart Kaminsky is an award-winning mystery novelist with four series currently underway. TO CATCH A SPY is the twenty-second novel in the long-running Toby Peters series set in 1940s Hollywood. The titles include A BULLET FOR A STAR (with Errol Flynn), NEVER CROSS A VAMPIRE (with Bela Lugosi), MURDER ON THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD (with Judy Garland), HE DONE HER WRONG (with Mae West), THE DEVIL MET A LADY (with Bette Davis), and THE MAN WHO SHOT LEWIS VANCE (with John Wayne). Kaminsky's other series include Russian police inspector Porfiry Rostnikov, Chicago police detective Abe Lieberman, and Florida process server Lewis Fonesca.The Toby Peters novels are quick and simple, each a guilty pleasure to read. TO CATCH A SPY, as in all of the series novels, offers a noirish story with plenty of Hollywood background that knowledgeable film aficionados of the 1940s era will love. One of the best aspects of this series is the cast of support characters. Mrs. Plaut is represented in rare form and Cary Grant plays quite nicely off her. Sheldon Minick, the dentist, is apparently going through some changes that are hinted at even more by the foreshadowing of the next Toby Peters book at the end of this story. One of the more interesting characters in the book is George Hall (one of several Peters turns up during the course of the novel) a voice actor for radio. Kaminsky, a former film historian and college professor, is certainly knowledgeable about this period of time and the various forms entertainment took. Cary Grant comes across much as he does in his movies, but there

Grace & Favors

For Stuart Kaminsky this is a very light, even frivolous mystery. Cary Grant's presence in a serious case seems to add froth. But it is immensely readable. Just try to put this spy tale down without finding out where the spies are, how Gunther's research is going, or if Mrs. Plaut will ever make sense! Even Jeremy's poetry becomes more beguiling.