The James Dean Affair: A Neil Gulliver & Stevie Marriner Novel - Hardcover

Levinson, Robert S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312872682 ISBN 13: 9780312872687

Publisher: Forge, 2000

Synopsis

Los Angeles newspaper columnist Neil Gulliver and his ex-wife, Stevie Marriner, uncover a pattern of supposedly accidental deaths among the co-stars of James Dean's "Rebel Without a Cause."

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Reviews

Sexy soap opera star Stevie (aka Stephanie) Marriner and her former husband, reporter Neil Gulliver, return for a second romp through Hollywood scandals, past and present. Stevie convinces Neil to attend a ceremony at the Hollywood post office for the issuing of the James Dean commemorative stamp. Stevie hopes that an item in Neil's column about one of Dean's long-ago co-stars, Nico Mercouri, will help Nico keep his job with Stevie's soap. Violence erupts at the ceremony, however, and Nico ends up dead, killed by a man eerily resembling James Dean himself. Aided by his old friend and mentor, Augie Fowler, now the self-styled "Brother Kalman," Neil sets off on a quest for the truth behind the murder, while trying to keep both himself and Stevie alive. At the heart of the present-day mayhem is the question: did James Dean really die on September 30, 1955? And if not, how did he turn into a heartless killer? The investigation takes Neil and Stevie on a tortuous course through Hollywood history, examining the fates of many of those connected with Dean in his heyday, like Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo, both of whom died under odd or brutal circumstances. Fans of Hollywood history and trivia will have a blast with the serpentine plot and arcane Dean lore that Levinson puts in the service of his puzzle. Others may find it all too convoluted and opt to rent one of Dean's old movies instead. Agent, Susan Crawford. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In his follow-up to The Elvis and Marilyn Affair , Levinson brings back amateur sleuths Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner. Los Angeles columnist Neil and soap opera "sex queen" Stevie are divorced best friends who hang around together all the time (this is fiction, remember). When Stevie asks Neil to accompany her to a party celebrating a James Dean commemorative stamp, a James Dean look-alike pulls a gun and kills one of the costars of Stevie's soap. Afterwards, Neil's eccentric idol and best friend, Brother Kalman, tries to convince them that the deaths of Rebel without a Cause costars Sal Mineo, Natalie Wood, and Nick Adams were murders, and that Dean himself may still be alive. As Neil and Stevie's search for the "evil Dean" continues, they become targets in a dangerous game that climaxes in Fairmount, Indiana, Dean's boyhood home. Although the convoluted, implausible plot may annoy some readers, fans of '50s movies will be more than willing to suspend disbelief. The smart-alecky dialogue helps keep your mind off the plot. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Forge
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312872682
• ISBN 13: 9780312872687
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320